


In The Depths of Winter

by TectonicPlatez



Series: The Coldest and the Boldest series [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-04 00:23:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5312675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TectonicPlatez/pseuds/TectonicPlatez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mythos University is the school of legend. With her old friends gone and Jack growing ever distant, Tooth wonders if growing up or love is really all it's cracked to be. From supermodels to supergeniuses, from plagiarizers to football stars, from 'code red' lockdowns to overdoses, Tooth faces it all...fighting desperately not to lose herself in the process. AU. Rating might change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day at MU

  


* * *

**:ABOUT MYTHOS UNIVERSITY:**

_Here at Mythos University, we take pride in our excellence in academics, research, and developing the new wave of leaders who will write their own stories worldwide._

_Our students are some of the brightest from all backgrounds. At this university, there are many disciplines to choose from for shaping up your academic profile. Undergraduates pursue degrees ranging from Engineering to Philosophies._

_Campus activities are constant and the number of clubs is endless. The Greek system here at MU is centuries old; the houses for fraternities and sororities are historical residences._

_With our new influx of talented and engaging professors, MU looks forward to seeing the university exceed any and all standards, moving forward into a better, brighter age._

_Sincerely,_

_Co-Presidents **Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm** , along with Vice-President **Scheherazade of Arabia**._

* * *

"Goodbyes, they often come in waves."

_-Jarod Kintz_

* * *

"Bye, Tooth!"

She waved back as the car pulled out of the campus lot. The soft wind blew the damp tracks in her shirt to a chilling temperature. Her father had gotten a little emotional when it was time to leave. Though her own cheeks remained dry, her throat was still tight from the sad look in her mother's the misty eyes. However, a strong pride shone past the sadness, overtaking everything else.

She was their college girl now.

Tooth would be alright, but watching them leave made her chest ache. The scene was entirely too familiar to another that she had two summers before.

_Don't forget me._

_"_ Hey." An older boy in a work shirt sidled up beside her and watched the vehicle fade before speaking.

"Those your folks?"

She nodded, biting her lip before turning to look up at the spiraling towers and old brick buildings. Her new home. "Yeah."

The boy motioned over some other kids in work shirts to help as he hefted up Tooth's trunk. "Don't be nervous, freshman. The first couple of weeks away are the hardest. You'll get used to being on your own."

Tooth tried to help the group carry her things toward the residence halls. "I'm not completely on my own!"

The older boy looked up at that, smirking. "You got any friends here at Mythos with you? Someone from your old school?"

She grinned.

The boy shrugged. "And here I thought I'd be your first friend, as your RA and all! C'mon, through these doors here-"

She followed him closely into the lobby. Several other students were bustling around, moving trunks this way and that. She wasn't surprised to see the nervousness and fear in some of the other faces looking back at her among the commotion. Everyone was in a new environment, not sure what to do. It was like a big 'reset' button on their lives and reputations but some kids seemed too scared to push it. Others looked eager and ready, like they had been waiting their entire lives for the chance.

"This way!"

She would be going to school with all these people? So many! There were probably more people here than there were back home in all of Burgess. They passed through more hallways than she could count. The school was so massive…then again, it was one of the oldest universities. Her RA suddenly stopped her train of thought, knocking on a door.

"Alright! Here we are, Door 364. Your roommate should already be in there I assume. Like I said before, I'm your Resident Assistant. You need help with anything, my room is in the middle of the hall. Come find me anytime. Oh, and uh, welcome to Mythos University!"

Tooth nodded and thanked him. He was so helpful! But what would her rooommate be like? Would they be excited to see her? Would they be happy? Or apathetic? Neat and clean or sloppy and strange? Mean or kind? Hm. She would never find out if she never went inside.

Peering into the dark room curiously, she toed her way in. She lugged her trunk over by an unoccupied bed and tried to gaze around. With the lights off and the shades drawn, she could hardly make out anything.

"Huh," she murmured, searching for the light switch, "I thought he said my roommate was here already. Maybe they left-"

"…Or _**maybe** _ they prefer dark rooms."

 _'Oh my god!'_ Tooth jumped noisily before swiveling her head around.

A long, slender female sat on the other side of the room. She was unsurprised and seemingly unimpressed by Tooth's reaction. The dorm lighting reflected off of her pale skin making the color on her lips even more vibrant.

"Did I frighten you?" A hint of pleasure tinged the slow, sultry voice.

Tooth paused before nodding jerkily, her long hair bouncing around. It wasn't like anyone just sat around in dark rooms in the middle of the day! Of course it had scared her! Her heart was still racing from the shock.

A wicked smile drew up the girls face and she laughed heartily.

Tooth would have been far more annoyed…if she hadn't caught sight of her roommate's _marvelous_ teeth! The lips around them were painted a dark red making the teeth look even brighter than normal. The rows were straight-set like a knife's edge except for a slight curve in the middle. Tooth thought it gave the girl's smile character. She needed to sketch them!

She moved in closer, awed at the precise formation.

"You have beautiful teeth…they're perfect. The curvature between your premolars is just divine!"

The girl stopped laughing, looking Tooth over strangely, as if she hadn't expected the smaller girl to speak of her own volition, much less get so close and compliment her. The nameless roommate let her red lips purse together and looked around trying to think of what to say.

"I wouldn't say 'perfect'," her eyes flicking back up sharply, "however I _am_ your new roommate. I'm Maleficent."

She stood.

Tooth gasped, a bit taken aback by the girl's imposing height. With her sharp features and bright eyes, Tooth felt very tiny in her presence. Maleficent strode her long legs across the room and reached beside her bed. She moved aside a few dark bags before pulling out a huge mass of black feathers.

"…And this one's name is Diaval, or Diablo, if you prefer. He's going to live with us and you're not going to tell anyone that he's here."

Tooth's lip quirked at that.

This girl seemed to be trying very hard to give off a hostile vibe, but Tooth felt like there wasn't any real bite behind the words. The feathery thing in her roommate's hands, on the other hand, looked _extremely_ hostile and grumpy as hell.

"And what if I do? Tell someone, I mean. You know pets aren't allowed in the dorms at Mythos. Is that a crow?"

Maleficent let out a small chuckle, stroking the bird. "You tell a soul, and I can make life very difficult for you here…But you don't look like the sort that starts trouble. And _he_ is a raven, not a crow. They're bigger. He's housetrained, if you're wondering."

Tooth moved towards the bird, gently pushing a finger through its shiny black feathers. Its expression became considerably less grumpy. "It's alright with me. Just make sure he doesn't chirp at night."

Maleficent's brows nearly hit her hairline as Tooth continued to poke at the bird. "He likes you... Usually he takes the fingers that touch him. Except for mine, of course."

Tooth smiled at that, glad to have gotten on their pet's good side. "Then Diablo and I will get along just fine. I hope we get along well the same, Maleficent."

Maleficent peered down at Tooth curiously, before moving away.

"I'm Toothiana," Tooth began as she followed after, "but you can call me Tooth. All my friends do."

Maleficent paused at the word and Tooth had a feeling it wasn't over her name. More like the word 'friend'. Still, Tooth wasn't put off in the slightest! She desperately wanted to be friends with Maleficent…no matter how prickly she seemed to be.

Slowly, her slender roommate turned before giving a carefully constructed grin. "Toothiana…I'm not a kind person, and I can admit that much. I am bound to hurt your feelings, sooner rather than later. Are you sure you want to be 'friends'?"

Seeing as how her roommate was making such a fuss about it, Tooth pondered.

She eyed Maleficent closely.

She looked at the dark bed and the dark posters and the dark clothing hanging in the dark closet. She eyed the creepy lava lamp on Maleficent's desk, the thorny vanity mirror, and the lines of razor sharp heels underneath the bed. She even glanced towards the large, grumpy raven.

Well. The girl certainly wasn't _conventional_ , but neither was Tooth! And Tooth couldn't even remember the last time she had a real friendship with another female. Maleficent didn't seem 'fake' or 'phony'. What Tooth was seeing was what she was going to get and she kind of appreciated that about her roommate. Besides, Tooth had just gotten here to this university! Only two of her friends from Burgess had come with her, and she couldn't bother _them_ 24/7. They would make new friends undoubtedly so she needed to find her own as well.

"You don't scare me. I doubt that you're a bully. Personally, I think you're just shy. You don't have to be shy around me, we'll get along great!" she held out her hand towards the girl.

Maleficent couldn't hold in the look of uncertainty that struck her face before placing her hand in Tooth's.

"I'm not shy! And don't say I didn't warn you." She turned away again to stare into her vanity, sitting down and pulling out a makeup brush.

Tooth smirked, sprawling back on the bed and humming happily. Time to get to know her new friend!

"So where are you from, Maleficent?"

Maleficent didn't miss a beat. "Please don't tell me that you're a talker. I can't stand inane chatter."

"Don't be nervous, tell me! We're friends now and all." Tooth rolled on her stomach, fluffing her pillow. Just from the few minutes she had known the other girl, she deducted a few things. Maleficent had constant 'bitch-face' and didn't seem to take genuine kindness too well. She was also devastatingly pretty, in a gothic kind of way. Tooth felt like she should be scared or intimidated, but she couldn't bring herself to be.

She didn't know why she felt so comfortable around Maleficent. She just _did_. That had to mean something, right? She hoped she wasn't wrong about her roommate, because if she was...well...Maleficent could definitely take Tooth in a fight.

Maleficent rolled her eyes before continuing to stare into her mirror. "Moors."

"Huh?"

"Where I'm _from._ You asked, didn't you?"

"Where's Moors?"

"Far away."

"Why come to this school?"

"Because it's even further away."

"What are you studying?"

"How to keep talkative roommates from talking so much. You?"

"How to keep shy roommates from being so shy!"

Tooth grinned at the sound of Maleficent's exasperated laugh.

* * *

" **Jackson**? Jackson Overland Frost? Hi, I'm your new roommate!"

Jack wandered into the room, looking around at the small dimensions. He didn't mind the size. He could adapt. He was just glad they had a window and a nice view.

Focusing his attention back on the other boy in the room Jack attempted not to gag on the cheer emanating off of the other guy.

He was going to relax. Thaw out a bit. 'Play nice'.

Tooth had told him earlier to be nice to whoever he ended up rooming with. To talk to them, and ask questions. As _if_ he wasn't nice. It's just...this guy's unnatural cheer was irritating him on a deep level, for some reason.

And Mythos was...big, to say the least.

Jack hadn't been nervous registering for classes. He hadn't been nervous on the drive up there. He hadn't even been nervous about Uncle Moon saying he would pay Jack 'surprise visits at school'.

But walking through campus...seeing all the new faces...his own face was stoic, but Jack's hands shook like a newborn babe's. He was horribly nervous. He had _thought_ it would be a fresh start. Where no one knew about the things he'd done. It didn't feel that way though. Instead it felt like being thrown into the sea without a life vest. Did he even belong in college...?

_Good luck!_

Jack was fighting the desire to relapse back into his old ways: shutting everything out and going cold again.

" **Jackson**?"

He immediately realized that he had been daydreaming on his roommate.

"Hey," he greeted, nodding. "Just 'Jack' is fine. I, ah, didn't catch your name-?"

"Rudolph! But you can call me Rudy." He nearly tripped himself, racing to shake Jack's hand vigorously, a large smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you!"

Jack granted the boy a tight smile. "Same. Is something going on? You seem pretty...excited."

'Rudy' gasped, releasing Jack's hand before chuckling nervously, gripping onto the edges of his sweater. "Nothing's happening, I just- I'm happy! Not saying that you aren't, but I mean, I show it a bit more. It's good to be positive!"

"Uh-huh."

Jack nodded before moving around Rudolph to set his things down. From the looks of numerous winter sweaters on the lower bed, Rudy had already claimed the lower half. Jack rolled up his sleeves before climbing up to the top bunk.

"O-oh, sorry!" Rudolph called out, following Jack to the bunk bed. "I took the lower bunk before you came because heights are…heights are, uh…"

Jack shrugged, bouncing a bit to check the bunkbed's stability. It hardly moved. "I don't mind. Heights don't scare me. Besides, I like top bunk."

There was a silence. Jack turned to the boy below. "Is something wr-"

His eyes nearly bugged.

Rudolph was blushing furiously, but all the color seemed to travel to the middle of his face. His nose was like a shining beacon. It almost seemed like an allergic reaction restricted to the middle of the kid's face.

"I'm not afraid of heights!" Rudolph insisted hotly. It seemed like he'd argued about this subject several times before.

Jack's eyebrow quirked at the sudden defiance.

_'Touchy.'_

"Oh yeah?" He asked out of curiosity, but it sounded more like a challenge to Rudolph.

"Yeah!"

Jack decided to let it go, because even though it was obvious his roommate was blatantly lying, Jack was being nice today. He just wanted this arrangement to work out.

"Well okay, but you might want to take a look at your nose becau-"

Rudolph gasped even louder this time, clapping his hands to his face and scrambling out of the room.

Jack stared on, wondering if he had said something wrong. He didn't really want to, but he would apologize once Rudolph returned. The guy just seemed so jumpy and all. He was probably just as nervous as Jack was about being in college.

Soon enough, Rudolph came back, his face dripping with cold water and the redness in his face gone. He used the sleeves of his sweater to wipe the water away as Jack leapt down from the top bunk.

"Hey look man, I'm sorry about-"

Rudolph shook his head so fast, Jack thought the kid would helicopter up into the sky. "Oh no, no! It's alright! It's my fault. My brothers are always teasing me about my…" he lowered his voice and leaned in, like it was some great big secret, "…my fear of _heights_. My nose, too. It gets like that when I'm cold or embarrassed or scared or surprised or really happy or really sad or-"

Jack lifted a hand to stop the rambling. "That's cool. I understand. No hard feelings."

Rudolph bit his lip, watching Jack nervously. Jack sighed at the look of shame the other boy's face before continuing.

"If it makes you feel better, I turn red really easy too. Not as red as _you_ , of course, but y'know."

"Oh!" Rudolph smiled, glad to share something secret with his cool new friend.

Jackson was _really_ cool. He didn't seem worried about anything! And his nose didn't turn red like Rudy's did and he was actually being very nice to him! Like he actually wanted to be his friend. He was so different from the folks back home. "Cool. So…where are you from?

"Burgess. You?"

Rudolph perked up a bit. "Alaska. We move around a lot, though."

"Your family?"

"Yeah! It's big! I have a lot of brothers."

Jack smiled for real this time. This was a topic he knew enough about, family! "I have siblings too. A sister. How many do you have?"

"No sisters here. Brothers? Plenty. Eight!"

Jack's eyes bugged once more. " _Eight_?"

"Eight. And I'm the youngest! I'm so happy to only have to share a room with one other person now. I don't have to worry about Vix, Blix, Dash, Dan, Comet, Cu-" Rudolph began, counting on his fingers.

Jack zoned out almost instantly. How this shy kid had made it this far as the youngest in a family that big, he would never know. If Jack had learned anything from television sitcoms or family movies, older brothers were really harsh on younger brothers.

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'm only here because of the Mythos aviation program. I'm studying aeronautical engineering! Gonna' be a pilot."

Jack nodded, interested once more. Wasn't Rudy afraid of heights...? Whatever. Better to not to bring it up and have the kid freak out again.

"Flying, huh? That's cool."

Rudolph smiled shyly, surprised that his dream career had been accepted so easily. "Yeah, it is cool. My brothers were teasing me before I came here. They don't think I can do it."

"Yeah, you can," Jack waved off, looking out the window at the campus below. When he turned back to his roommate, Rudy was just standing there, biting at his fingers nervously. Jack sat a little straighter.

"You _can_ do whatever you want, Rudy. It's just a silly fear. You can beat it. I've had to do the same thing before. I'll be rooting for you." Jack made a little fist pump motion jokingly, but his new roommate seemed to take the statement to heart.

"Thanks, Jackso- uh, Jack! Wh…what were you afraid of?"

Jack shrugged. "Cars. Driving."

"Oh. Why?"

Jack didn't have an answer. It was one thing to be nice to a new friend. It was another to reveal your life story to someone you just met.

Catching onto the hesitance, Rudolph lifted his hands in reassurance. "That's okay, you don't have to answer that! Well, what do you want to be, Jack?"

Jack frowned, looking back out the window again.

"Dunno'. I'll figure it out, I guess."

The touch of Rudolph's hand on his shoulder made Jack feel a bit uncomfortable, but looking into the serious face of the other boy, he bit back a retort and allowed it.

"It's alright Jack, you'll find your dream job. I'll be rooting for you, too-"

"-You freshmen are so **gay** , it's **flaming** in here."

Rudolph and Jack jumped apart, looking towards their door. A clearly older, larger boy was peering in, looking around before settling back on the pair. "I'd say 'get a room', but you two are already in one. Need help moving stuff around?"

Rudolph's voice didn't seem to be working, but Jack's was fully functional.

"Nope, we're flamingly fine. Thanks."

The other boy stepped further in, spreading out his stance. He was a huge guy that nearly shadowed Jack and Rudolph. His arms and chest were rippling with muscle as his deep voice spoke again.

"Aw c'mon. It was just a joke. No hard feelings, right? Here, the name's Gilgamesh." The tall boy reached out a hand, smirking. "I run things around here."

Rudolph was quick to shake the massive hand so as not to appear rude, but Jack refrained. No need to suck up to some guy he'd probably be pranking later. Leaning in, Jack could see a name tag on Gilgamesh's shirt. "You're….you're our RA?"

"Damn right. So you two flame-o's better keep the faggotry out of the hall or you'll be dealing with me, and you don't want that. Right, so here are the rules: Don't lose your room key, or pay a ton of money. No pets, I don't want to see Fido in here. Recycle your shit. No candles, no smoking in here, no drinking, don't burn the place down. No girls- but _that_ won't be a problem for you all, now will it? Ha, joking, joking- no girls unless they're being chaperoned by one of you."

Jack frowned. This uninvited guest was wearing out his welcome pretty fast. "That it?"

"Nope. Those are the _standard_ rules. These are mine that you will live under: Smoke by the windows, drink but don't poison yourselves, fuck all you want. I don't want to hear it. You wanna' fight someone, take it outside. Don't bother me with dumb shit. Stay in your place. I'm RA. If I catch any girls of yours walking around and she's pretty, I'll escort her to my dorm, catch my drift? Stay in your place."

Jack stepped forward, ignoring the sudden hold Rudolph put on him. "Jack don't-"

"What are you, King of the Mountain? How did you even get this job? Who would make _you_ an RA?"

The older boy smiled, flexing. He tipped his head in the air so that he could look them both down past the bridge of his nose. His boxed beard looked even fuller and tougher.

"What are you, mad, freshie? I'm RA because I know how to rule this dorm and I rule it well. Go ahead and push me. I can show you exactly why I'm King of the-."

" **Gilgamesh**."

Everyone turned once more, facing another newcomer.

 _'We need to get a better lock for that door,'_ Jack thought absently.

It was another older boy with and RA tag on his shirt, however he looked nothing like Gilgamesh.

This boy had long, wild hair to the shoulder blade. His shirt was tattered and he wore a small necklace of animal teeth as well as a wooden bracelet. His skin was far more tanned and his body was lithe and thinner than Gilgamesh's.

"Do you always have to bother the new kids? Sorry about him, guys. Gil just doesn't know when to lay off."

"Don't call me that! And I'm helping them out-"

The thinner boy turned on Gilgamesh, crossing his arms. "Either you leave them alone, or I'll make you."

Gilgameshs's eyes widened and his fists trembled before he bit his lip and stalked out the room, murmuring. "Whatever. Goddamned hippy…"

Jack and Rudy were puzzled.

Who…?

The boy smirked at them. "I'm Enkidu."

"Are you our resident assistant too?" Rudolph asked.

"Nah, I stole this tag." Enkidu said. "I just wear this so people come to me for help instead of that guy. Don't worry about him. He's tough on the freshmen…well, _everyone_ … but if he gives you trouble just tell me and I'll set him straight."

"What's up with him? Why is he our RA?" Jack asked.

"Eh, he's just used to 'ruling' everything and everyone around him. We're from the same town actually. Back in Uruk he treated everyone like they were there to serve him. Strong armed his way into school president, valedictorian, team captain, you know. Thought he deserved the world on a silver platter because he comes from old wealth and prestige. He's not all bad, he just doesn't know how to behave or treat people instead of trying to tell them what to do."

Jack quirked his brow. "If he likes to boss people around, why did he listen to you just now?"

Enkidu laughed. "Y'know, I moved there when I was a teenager. I was a lot meaner and crazier back then. He tried to boss me around my first day. I fought him right there. Kicked his ass, too. Never bossed me around again. He made me realize how I had been acting, made me clean up my act. Really, he's not so bad once you know him."

Jack nodded, understanding. Gilgamesh was nothing to be concerned about as long as Enkidu was around. Rudolph, however, bit at his fingers, his nose furiously covering itself in blush again.

"He's a bully! And he called us…he said we were-"

Enkidu laughed, reaching out a hand to give Rudolph a friendly pat. "What'd I just say, man? Don't worry about him! Just don't get in his way or come to me. Besides, he calls everyone gay."

Jack's brow quirked before he receded into his own thoughts.

An insanely optimistic roommate with blood distribution issues, one crazy, homophobic RA that looked like an MMA wrestler, one ex-crazy, ass-kicking RA that looked like he walked out of a jungle, and a dorm full of unknown people and challenges.

Jack didn't even know what he wanted to be.

This was going to be an interesting year, alright. He wondered how Tooth was faring on her side of the campus.

Maybe he could call her later once she was settled in?

* * *

" _What_?!"

"You can't stay in the room for awhile tonight."

Tooth jerked wildly to her side, staring at her roommate in awe. Seriously?

"What do you mean I can't stay? It's the first day!"

Maleficent tried to keep up their walking pace though Tooth had slowed considerably at her request, too busy gawking at her to walk properly. "There's this boy I want to come over. It'll only be for three hours, maybe four? Then I'll send him on his way and you can come back."

"Why can't I just be in there while you guys are talking and-"

"We won't be talking."

Tooth's face slackened. " _O-oh_." She continued to walk awkwardly alongside her roommate before turning once more. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No. More like a plaything."

Tooth frowned in disgust. "That's awful, Maleficent."

"What?" Maleficent grinned, perfectly manicured hands up in surrender. "He likes being my toy!"

"You talk about him like he's some kind of useless object. I'm sure you wouldn't like it if he spoke about you that way."

Maleficent stopped and a perfectly stiletto'd heel before leaning over to peer at Tooth. "So what if I didn't like it? So what if I _did_? What if that's what gets me off? Who are you to pass judgement?"

Tooth lifted her hands in surrender, shaking her head furiously. "Oh! No, I didn't mean to judge..."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes before continuing onward. "Well you did. This is college, Toothiana. Get used to these things. Not all of us are as pious and conservative as you." She continued to walk but her footsteps were a little more stiff.

Tooth followed after, feeling a little irritated herself.

How could her roommate just kick her out the room like that? And so soon? With no forewarning? For some guy? And then she acted like Tooth didn't know what college kids got up to! Like she was some small child that didn't know any better!

She had to lay down the law now. If she didn't face these problems head on, she would never be heard.

"Maleficent, you need to tell me these things ahead of time. I understand you do your own thing, but it's my room too. Next time you should go to his dorm instead of using ours."

"Are you asking me?" Maleficent countered, staring Tooth down with intensity.

Tooth frowned before stepping in front of the tall girl, getting on her tip toes for leverage.

"No. I'm _telling_ you. We need to compromise!"

Maleficent's brows rose before a sly smile slid on her face. "So you _do_ have it in you…alright. I apologize. It'll only be this one night that I have him over at our place and make you go somewhere else. You have my word."

Tooth nodded, her usual optimistic look returning. "Thanks. As long as you respect that. Where should I go in the meantime?" Tooth pondered, her finger tapping at her chin.

"You could find a warm body of your own to spend the evening with."

Tooth gulped, shaking her head. She wasn't even going to consider that statement. Her and Jack had never gotten that far. "Pass."

Maleficent chuckled before throwing back a long lock of black hair. "What did you say before about Burgess High when you were rambling to me? You danced there, yes?"

Tooth nodded. "Yes, but-"

Maleficent laid a slender hand on Tooth's shoulder and pivoted her around. "Look there, on the wall. _'Dance Team Try-Outs tonight at Mythos Stadium'_. How utterly convenient. Why don't you go?"

Tooth did indeed spy a poster on the side of the nearest building that read about the college dance team. Try outs were that night and they wanted anyone who was willing to come. _'Bring something comfy to wear'_.

Tooth grinned. Sure, she wasn't completely settled enough in college to be considering long-term commitments like teams and what-not, but she could always leave the team if things got too hectic. It would be a good way to spend the time she had when she wasn't in class, studying, or hanging out. Maybe she would make some more friends?

"Maleficent, that's perfect! You've got the room to yourself then, I'm going to tryouts."

They headed back towards the dorm, campus explorations to be put on hold for another day.

Once back, Tooth began to pack a bag for tryouts. "Towel, extra clothes…hmm, what else…?"

"Here," Maleficent offered. She handed Tooth a water bottle and her cell phone. "Why did you put those weird stickers all over it?"

Tooth grinned, grabbing the forgotten items. "I like teeth. You're a lot nicer than you pretend to be, you know that?"

Maleficent sneered. "I'm no such thing. I kicked you out of our room tonight, didn't I? And trying to play detective with me on the first day we meet, I see? I could visit a psychiatrist if I wanted to be analyzed, I don't need you doing it for me."

Tooth sighed long and loud. Jeez. Couldn't the girl just say 'thank you' every once in a while? "I knew someone who used to be like you. Someone who was all prickly on the outside, like a wall of defense."

Maleficent looked truly irritated now. "Wall? Fine. Whatever helps you feel like _you_ have control over the situation. But you don't know anything about me or why I do things the way I do. If we're going there, I knew someone who used to be like you!"

Tooth frowned. "What do you mean _'like me'_?"

"She was always chipper. Trying to find the best in everything. Trying to force people to 'open up'. It was condescending on her part, and look where she is now."

"Huh? What happened to her?"

"She got married," Maleficent cringed at the very word, "and if she hadn't been so curious about people and things, she wouldn't be. Would have never met that guy. Serves her right."

"Don't say things like that," Tooth chuckled, wondering why Maleficent was so upset over something so small and harmless, "you should be happy for your friend! So dramatic."

"It's not dramatic! Now she's like a housewife, caged up like some kind of prized bird."

Biting back a laugh, Tooth said, "You make it sound like it's a bad thing to love someone."

Maleficent scoffed. "It _is_. And she's an idiot to fall for it. I warned her. He'll leave her soon enough!"

Tooth's brows drew together at that. "Maleficent, please don't. I have a boyfriend too, and I'm not a slave or anything. It's mutual. We like each other."

Maleficent waved her off. "Think what you wish. He'll leave. Men always do."

Tooth froze, staring at her roommate in shock.

_'She thinks Jack would leave me? Again...?'_

"Wh-Why..." she began, her eyes watering up as her voice broke a bit.

Maleficent's eyes bulged at the sight of Tooth's tears. "Toothiana-"

"Um," Tooth blurted, wiping hurriedly at her eyes. "I don't know why I'm...that was...that was _mean_ to say."

The very though of Jack leaving again... that alone was enough to make her foundations tremble. They had done so much just to stay together. Now here was someone telling her that all of that meant nothing!

Maleficent laughed softly as she leaned down to Tooth's height and brought up the hem of her black shirt to wipe at Tooth's eyes. "Oh, stop that. I told you before that I was mean! I won't apologize to you or anyone else, but I do regret making you cry. Please, Toothiana. No more tears."

Tooth hiccuped, reveling in the feel of the soft fabric on her skin and the long fingers caressing her shoulder. The sharp nails brushing her cheek made a chill go up her spine, but the touch was gentle enough that she relaxed back into it. She breathed. "Okay. It's alright. S-sorry for freaking out. Your shirt-"

"-is Givenchy, and now thoroughly ruined. But no matter."

Tooth had the decency to look sheepish as Maleficent chased the last tear away with the damp edge of her shirt.

"Maleficent look…I'm sorry, too. You were right. I was assuming things earlier. It's a bad habit and I'll try to stop. Let's not fight, okay?"

"Then don't start them," Maleficent teased before looking for a new shirt to wear.

Tooth nodded and turned back to her bag. She'd have to remember that Maleficent was a little different from others, and that she didn't like being cornered or corrected or analyzed. And what had she meant, control? Tooth didn't _need_ control over things, surely. She wasn't some control freak. Whatever. The girl was fierce, but Tooth could handle it. Especially after that embarrassing little breakdown! No need to repeat _that._

She was surprised that Maleficent had even bothered to comfort her. She seemed more like the type to tease Tooth for crying or be repulsed at the sight of her tears. Tooth decided from then on to keep her observations to herself, here at college.

She would stop questioning, but she wouldn't stop wondering about others.

There was silence for a while until Maleficent broke it.

"What happened to that person…the one 'like me'?"

Tooth was surprised that Maleficent even wanted to talk to her, still. Tooth tried to make her voice light and airy but it came out stuffy. "Oh! He's still kind of like that. But he's happier now," Tooth said listlessly staring off, a small smile on her face.

Maleficent stared before looking off. "Your boyfriend...?"

"Yes. The one that was going to 'leave me' eventually, as you put so nicely."

Maleficent paused at Tooth's sudden hard tone. Tooth wondered if a real fight was going to happen, but nothing of the sort occurred.

Instead, Maleficent breathed deeply before continuing slowly. "I...My past relationship was...very unpleasant, to say the least. Now I keep myself at a distance. I 'play' instead of 'date'. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right, but it works for me. When I see others in happier relationships, it...it irks me. That's why I said those things to you. Not only out of envy that I couldn't have the same thing, but also that I would sooner hurt my friends with my words of warning before any man could hurt them with his actions."

Tooth's eyes shone in happiness. "Oh, Maleficent. That's, uh, caring. In a weird way. But Jack isn't like that at all! You said earlier not to judge. Maybe you shouldn't judge all guys based on the actions of your last boyfriend.

Tooth walked over, wanting to touch the other girl reassuringly, but controlling herself. "Do you want to eat some ice cream and watch a movie after your guy-friend leaves? We can hang out and we can get to know one another more…the right way."

Maleficent pretended to ponder the thought before nodding quickly. "Alright. Just go to tryouts. I'll be in the dorms when you get back."

Tooth nodded, hoisting up her bag and jogging away. She turned quickly. "Oh! What flavor are we getting?"

"I just adore the taste of arsenic. Or perhaps cyanide?" Maleficent teased.

"Malefic-"

"Fine, fine. Chocolate. The _dark_ kind."

* * *

"Line up ladies, single file, side by side. Quick!"

The girls sidestepped past one another in the empty gym as the line slowly formed itself out of all the young hopefuls, all wishing to be part of the Mythos Dance Team. Toothiana, among them, placed herself quickly.

"Alright everyone. I'm Mab, the co-captain of Mythos' dance squad, the _'Nymphs'_! Welcome!"

Everyone clapped generously before allowing the co-captain to resume.

"Here beside me, is the team captain. She goes by Tinkerbell. You'll be dancing for her today."

The claps started up but the sharp look Tinkerbell gave made the room quiet once more.

"Alright," Tinkerbell announced with a light and chipper voice, "everyone who's over 200 pounds, 90 kilograms, 14 stone, whatever system you use to measure fat, thank you for coming. Leave."

The eager smiles seemed to slide off of the girls' faces. A few looked around, almost as if they were expecting a cameraman to jump out and yell, 'Gotcha!'.

The longer the team captain stood before them tapping her foot, the more they all understood that it wasn't a joke. A dull realization settled over the crowd as a few of the heavier girls left the gym, looking disappointed.

"That's mean!" a nameless onlooker called out.

"No," Tinkerbell responded on the dot, "it'd be _mean_ is to allow someone with too much weight on the team, only to have them preform hard dance moves and break their ankles out on the field like last year! I will not allow this team to look bad again! The cuts aren't even over yet."

A few groans erupted around Tooth. "But we haven't even danced yet!" one girl called out from behind her.

"Everyone who just groaned? Thank you for coming. Leave."

Tooth's jaw dropped. A few girls did stomp out angrily while others stood stock still hoping that they would be spared. Tooth wasn't sure what to do because she was still puzzled on how half the girls in the room had already been eliminated.

"I will not allow whiners on this team. We already have tough competition each year, having all those prissy princesses on the cheer team, not to mention other schools' dance squads. I don't need anymore trouble on my hands."

Tinkerbell walked up and down the line, eyeing everyone. "We are the ' _Nymphs'_. We need to look like the team name suggests. We need to dance like it."

She pointed some girls towards the gym exit door and motioned for other girls to remain where they were. "Now, I don't like to be the bad girl, but I will be. Understand that this is my job. If you don't like the team after a bit of time on it you're welcome to leave, but you cannot try out again. Once you're on the team, the worst will have passed. All you need to focus on from then on is training with the other Nymphs."

Tooth highly doubted that. With a captain like Tinkerbell, there was a very possible chance that practices would be hellish instead of fun. Still, she didn't come all this way for nothing. If it was really that bad, she could always drop the team.

Tinkerbell stopped before her, glancing Tooth over. Tooth observed her similarly.

Tinkerbell was shorter than Tooth by a few inches, and wider in the waist as well. Still she was an overall petite girl that looked light on her feet, like the rest of the team did. Her eyes were a soft blue despite the hard emotion behind them. Her hair was gathered up into an obscenely large bun on the peak of her head, with the exception of a soft blonde bang falling to the side.

The captain did not smile but still looked approvingly at Tooth. "Nice, toned arms. Small waist. Don't move."

Tinkerbell continued down the line.

By the end of the examination, more than half the girls that had come to tryouts had left. Only a third remained. The room reeked of disappointment and fear.

Tinkerbell seemed to relax at the sight of the smaller crowd. "Who here has danced on a team before?"

A few hands rose.

"And who here has captained a team?"

Tooth and two others rose their hands.

"Well remember this: **I'm** captain here. Not you."

Tooth frowned. _'Of course we all know you're captain. Why even mention it again? I'll make a mental note to keep out of **her** way.'_

At least Maleficent was visibly as intimidating as she actually was. Tinkerbell on the other hand...

This whole experience was leaving a bad taste in Tooth's mouth and as petite and nice as Tinkerbell looked, the girl seemed kind of…not that nice. However tryouts weren't over yet and Tooth wasn't too keen on bothering Jack on the first day or returning to the room too early to find Maleficent and her 'plaything' in the middle of _whatever_ they were doing.

"Alright everyone!" Mab yelled, "Tink wants to see dances! You're all going to solo to a song of your choice, then learn quick dance routine and preform it for us. Line up for the solos!"

Tooth watched as person after person put on a show for the dance team members and captains. Though there were a few that could certainly use some help or improvement, none of the girls were hopeless. Tooth thought there was a wonderful collection of people for the team! Worried, Tooth realized that she had only ever done cultural dances. This dance squad seemed to focus on modern day dances.

After solos, they all learned a quick routine demonstrated by Mab and tried to preform it as best as they could.

"Alright, thank you everyone. I really liked- ah, I _mean_ …Tink?"

Tinkerbell pursed her lips before calling out names. "Blue, Holly, Ondine, Plum, Puck- congrats on being the only boy to show up, by the way, Puck- and Toothiana. You're all on. Congrats."

A few cheers and hoots went around, though Tooth refrained and only gave a small smile. She wasn't sure what to expect from this team but hey, at least she spent the day doing something interesting before term started! With all the previous harsh eliminations, Tooth felt a bit of pride for having made the team despite the odds.

Tinkerbell went on, clapping her hands for the room's attention.

"Practice starts in here next week! Try to get your class schedules sorted out by then. We don't practice nearly as much as the cheerleaders do, but that doesn't mean you guys can slack off! See you soon, Nymphs."

Tooth nodded and grabbed the packet of important dates before walking out.

"Nice dancing," came a soft voice from beside her.

"Oh! Thanks. You too, uh…"

"Everyone calls me Blue. So that Tinkerbell sure is something, huh?"

Tooth nodded eagerly, glad to have someone else who thought the same. "She seems really…intense."

"Oh, intense ain't the word for it." Puck responded, popping up beside them both. "More like super ultra mega _bitch_. You saw the way she treated those guys who didn't make the cut. But she dances like a dream, so nothing else really matters."

"I just hope this team doesn't take up too much of our time. My friend and I want to hang out this year, but he's on the robotics team. With me doing dance, I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to just enjoy one another." Blue stated sadly.

"Oh yeah...who?" Puck asked. "Is it that weird Italian kid by any chance?"

"Oh! You know him?"

"Yep. My roommate's on the robotics team with him. Says he's always going on and on about you."

Blue bit the inside of her cheek, trying to fight back a smile. Tooth shot her a small smile.

"Who's your roommate?" Blue questioned.

"Hiccup Haddock."

Tooth's eyes widened. "Hiccup? I used to go to high school with him!" She had no clue that Hiccup had decided to go to Mythos, much less join the robotics team.

"Yeah? Small world, I guess. See you guys."

Blue and Tooth waved as the boy jogged away. Blue said her own goodbyes before leaving. Tooth continued on.

By the time she got to the dorms, the sun was lowering in the sky and colors bled into reds and oranges across the clouds. The campus was still filled with students, new and old, going from place to place. Tooth walked inside the dorms with her gym bag thumping against her side.

Which other students from Burgess High attended Mythos...?

Noises down the corridor alerted her and Toothiana raised her eyes, spying a group of seriously large guys lumbering in her direction, laughing and messing around. Tooth stared on. Their bulk reminded her of...

Old feelings spread through her chest and Tooth had to bite her lip to keep from making an embarrassing noise. Oh, and she had been doing _so_ well! Her old friends...

The old gang had broken up.

Sandy was attending Mythos with Tooth, but they had realized the summer before that she would rarely see him because he was a serious medical major, training to be an anesthesiologist and taking a few neuroscience classes to boot.

North and Bunnymund, on the other hand, were overseas. At least she heard from Bunnymund from time to time through online video chat and text messages. He was in going to school in England with Alice. North was nearly unreachable back at his home in Russia. For some reason, the boy didn't have a computer and the libraries wouldn't allow him to hook up any webcams to theirs. He could only call or write. Tooth had a handful of letters in his tiny, neat scrawl.

'Missing them' was an understatement.

There had been nights where she looked at her old sketchbook from high school, filled with the teeth of her friends and classmates. She could recognize every single one. North's were wide, strong and white. Bunnymund had the signature enlarged central incisors, or buck teeth, with sharp canines. She would trace her finger over them longingly, wondering where all the time went. She knew things would never go back to the way they had been.

Tooth had promised herself to keep in contact with them. To try to remain unbothered by it all.

But how _could_ she? How could she not feel anything?

They had been her very first real friends in high school, the best ones she had ever had, really. They were the first group of kids to make her feel normal and welcome. There wasn't a week that went by where they didn't see one another or hang out. Now it had all fallen apart.

No. She would keep it together. They all had their own lives now and it wasn't like they couldn't speak to each other through some method, if they really wanted to. Tooth had to bottle the feelings and start fresh, here at Mythos. She would make new friends! She already had a few. Maleficent, Puck, Blue.

Besides. It wasn't like Hiccup and Sandy weren't here with her. And Jack…

Jack was here with her. Jack was always there.

Tooth smiled softly, unaware that she was still staring in the direction of the group of boys. They smiled back at her and gave little greetings, but Tooth remained oblivious.

" **Oh**!" A voice boomed.

Tooth snapped out of her reverie and focused her vision, astonished. She recognized one of the larger boys. "Th-Th-"

"Brainiac! From Burgess High! You go here? Wow. You look hot."

Tooth couldn't keep from rolling her eyes. She should have seen that coming from a mile away. "Thank you, Thor. And my name is Tooth."

"I knew that, I _knew_ that! Hey guys, I'll catch up later." He waved them off before looking back at her. "Football team," he gestured over at the retreating crowd, "They're cool guys. I made quarterback here at Mythos. Great, huh?"

Tooth nodded, her interest peaking. "Yes, that's wonderful. Do you live in these dorms?"

"Nah, the Mythos athletes get a special set of dorms on the other side of campus. They're incredible."

Tooth was a little jealous at the cool accommodations they got. She worked harder than Thor ever had in high school. Still, he worked hard in his own way, she figured. "Well good for you! You always played well back in Burgess."

"Yes. Now I'm in the big leagues! College ball is where it's at."

Tooth bit her lip, nodding and walking backwards. "Well…nice seeing you agai-"

"Wait," Thor reached out, making Tooth halt.

Tooth's brow quirked. "Yes...?"

For once, Thor looked self conscious. His eyes were downcast as he kicked his feet a bit, looking for the right words to say.

"I, uh…To stay on the team and keep my special offers from Mythos, I need to keep my grades up. I mean, sports was the only way I was able to get in this school. If I can't do well in classes, I'm booted from the team and the university, so uh…Could you tutor me? I know…I know I'm not all that smart-"

"Don't say that, Thor! You're plenty smart!" Tooth insisted.

She wasn't too sure if that was _true_ , but she wasn't going to doubt him. Back in Burgess, Thor was pretty well known as a musclebound lug-head, good only for parties and football games. They made jokes about him. She had always believed the rumors before, but now with him standing before her and asking her for help…

"I would love to tutor you! I mean, I'm really, _really_ busy, but...yes. Why me, though? Aren't there other, more qualified Mythos students to help you?"

Thor frowned, almost childlike. "But I actually know you. You're nice to me. You're nice to everyone! And you were really smart back in Burgess. Athena said so."

Tooth felt her heart speed up. She had forgotten Thor hung out with Zeus and his crowd from time to time. Athena said that about her? Thor thought she was nice?

"Alright! I'll help you. Don't you worry about a thing. It's a good thing you found me before classes started. We'll set you up with a study plan and everything-"

"I knew I could count on you!"

Tooth felt two large arms wrap around her before squeezing the life out of her. Tooth thought she would be able to keep her lunch down until Thor proceeded to swing them both in circles, right there in the tight hallway. Tooth couldn't help but notice that Thor was extremely similar to North in the hug department.

Still spinning, Tooth barely caught sight of the blurred vision of a girl. "Thor, **_wait_** -!" she got out until the toe of her shoe hit something.

_"Oof!"_

Thor and Tooth stopped immediately as the other girl fell over hard, having bumped into their wild hug. She leaned over her arm clutching it and cringing.

"Oh jeez, we- we're so sorry!" Tooth cried, jumping out of Thor's arms. She raced over to the girl, reaching out a hand. "Here, let me help y-"

"Don't touch me!"

Tooth froze at the icy demand, her hand retreating away. The fallen girl kept her face turned, denying Tooth from seeing her face. All Tooth could observe was the pale white hand clutching at the reddening arm and the platinum blonde hair coiled into a tight, intricate bun. Hair so white, it almost looked like Jack's…

"Are you okay?" Tooth asked.

The girl sighed a bit before rising up, still holding her arm. "Fine," she murmured before continuing on down the hall.

Tooth was totally embarrassed.

She turned on Thor, who raised his hands in defense.

"I didn't know she was there!" He blurted instantaneously, trying to save face

"Well, me neither! We still shotgunned her with my feet flying in the air like that! We're lucky she didn't report us to an RA."

Thor scoffed. "Why would she do that? We're all adults here. If we get hurt, we can lick our own wounds."

Tooth sighed. "I just feel bad."

"Don't!" Thor interceded, grabbing her shoulder. "You're doing a good thing by helping me out! A good deed cancels out a bad deed. You'll see. You won't regret it."

Tooth smiled a little. "I'm sure I won't regret a thing. We just have to work hard, okay?"

"Okay," Thor agreed. They swapped numbers before Thor headed on his way down the hall. "Catch you later Brainy!"

"Tooth!" she called back, stamping her foot before continuing to her room.

Her phone lit up.

"Jack?" she answered.

"My RA wants me dead and my roommate's afraid of his own shadow. Something tells me you're having a better first day than I am."

Tooth snorted. "My RA's pretty nice and my roommate's not afraid of shadows in the least…more like she _is_ a shadow. You know she snuck a raven in our room? Also I joined the dance team and am now tutoring Thor. Apparently Hiccup goes here too."

Jack laughed out loud. "Of _course_ you would get all that done in one day. Why am I even surprised at this point?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tooth, you're always doing a bunch of things at once. It's almost like you can't slow down."

"That's not true!"

Jack sighed. "Well I just hope you still have time for me."

Tooth nodded before remembering that Jack couldn't exactly see her do it. "Always! I always have time for you."

"Aw," Jack cooed, "I think my heart just pitter-pattered."

"Pitter-patter? Are you for real?" Tooth giggled.

"What? My roommate said it earlier, gimme' a break."

"Sure, blame it on the roommate!"

Tooth laughed at the sounds of Jack's irritation over the line. "Yeah, whatever. You're just a dance-tutor-linguist-dentition-person, what would you know?"

"I have to go, I'm going in my room now."

"Alright, dance-tutor-lingu-"

"I love you."

"Oh. Ah," Jack lowered his voice to a murmur before answering back, "love you too."

Tooth let him hang up first. She would never get tired of hearing that.

* * *

.

.

.

-Gilgamesh and Enkidu are characters from an old Mesopotamian myth, _'The Epic of Gilgamesh'_.

-The significant fairies on 'Nymphs' dance team are Tinkerbell from J.M. Barrie's _'Peter Pan'_ , the Blue Fairy from ' _Pinnocchio'_ , Puck from Shakespeare's _'A Midsummer Night's Dream'_ , and Mab from Shakespeare's _'Romeo and Juliet'._

 _-_ Kids from Burgess that attend Mythos are Toothiana, Jack, Sandy, Thor, Hiccup, and another soon to be revealed. Bet you can guess who it is!


	2. First Mistakes at MU

  


* * *

"I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself"

_-Rita Mae Brown_

* * *

"I'm afraid that we all make mistakes. One of the things that defines our character is how we handle mistakes. If we lie about having made a mistake, then it can't be corrected and it festers. On the other hand, if we give up just because we made a mistake, even a big mistake, none of us would get far in life."

_\- Terry Goodkind_

* * *

It was the third hour into the tutoring session and Tooth was certain that her brain was going to short-circuit.

"Thor, **_why_** are you taking all these hard classes?" she blurted in exasperation. Seeing the embarrassed look on the larger boy's face made her bite her tongue. He was already self conscious about his intelligence. Why drill it in him further?

She wasn't thinking too clearly. The numbers and graphs were still flashing in her vision. All she wanted to do was hang out with Sandy and see Jack. When had she last seen him? Two _weeks_ ago?

It had been a long day for her- scratch that, a long _month_ \- but she didn't want to take that out on her pupil. Thor was already so nervous about his grades. Quickly, she looked for the right words to say but the muscled boy was already answering her.

"I know they're pretty hard, but I need to pass these classes if I want a job in paleotempestology!"

Tooth stared.

Thor sighed loudly. "Oh for the love of- _storm chasing_ , Tooth. I want to be a storm chaser."

Tooth looked away in embarrassment. He had told her so many times, she just simply could not remember! "I thought you were going to play football professionally...?"

"I am!"

"You're going to be a storm chasing football player?"

"Yes!"

Tooth bit back a pained sigh, running her fingers through her hair. She admired Thor's obvious passion, watching him dive back into his book and studying cloud formation, but she couldn't help but feel doubtful. These classes were really hard, even for her! And he was putting so much faith in her tutoring. If she failed him…

Tooth didn't want to fail. Bad grades, late attendance, any of those things…She could hardly stand failing herself. To be the cause of someone else's downfall was borderline nightmarish for her. No matter how long this month had been, no matter how tired she was, she would take responsibility! Thor needed her. She had accepted tutoring him, after all.

Thor looked up at her curiously. "Are you okay? You seem a little tired."

Tooth shook her head, squaring her shoulders. "I'm fine. Let's get back to work!"

And so Tooth helped him for another hour, studiously going over various textbooks, graphs, and calculations. Thor glanced at the clock before looking at Tooth. "I'm going to grab another book. I'll be right back."

Just as he left, another group of students sat beside her table.

Tooth noticed out of the corner of her vision that one of the group members was staring intently at her. She around shifted in her seat for a moment.

"Uh…hello," she offered quietly, eyes flicking over to the staring kid.

The others just glanced over at her, unaware of how their friend was visually daggering her. They returned to their conversation, but Tooth could still feel eyes on her. She hunched over and let her hair hang in her face to hide herself from view.

A nearby voice broke the quiet.

"Hey. Where are you from?"

Tooth looked over at the staring boy and smiled gently. So that's what he was wondering!

"Oh! I'm from Burgess."

The kid frowned. "No. Like, where are you _really_ from?"

Tooth grew confused. "I don't know what you mean-"

The kid then brought up his fingers to pull at his eyes, making them squinty. "Like, where in China are you from? Or is it Japan?"

A nearby friend slapped him on the arm. "Nah dude, she's way too dark to be from China!"

Tooth's eyebrows nearly shot into her hairline.

_'What…?'_

"I…I'm not Chinese or Japanese. I'm mixed. My mother is Indian and my fa-"

"India? For real? Why don't you have the red dot on your forehead then? You don't even look Indian. If you were, your parents wouldn't let you dye your hair like that. Indians are super strict on their kids."

Tooth slid further into her seat, unsure what to say.

This wasn't the first time she faced ignorance on Asians, but it certainly had never been so…so blatant! And there were people around. They were staring at her, wondering what she would do or say. She grew nervous under the pressure and tried to repeat herself.

"I-I…My mother is Indian. My father is Thai. I'm from Burgess."

The boy looked frustrated with her- as if she was withholding the answer he wanted to hear. "So are you like…Asian? Or Indian?"

Tooth bit her lip, hating the feel of all the eyes on her. "India _is_ in Asia."

"She's Asian man, just leave it at that," another kid in the grouped laughed.

One girl peered over. "Then why is she so dark? I thought Asians were all like, _white_."

"You mean yellow?" another boy chimed.

The group snorted and laughed raucously. Some nearby kids looked uncomfortable,whereas others chuckled along with the joke. Some were just blatantly staring at Tooth, wondering what to make of her or what she would do.

Tooth's brows furrowed and she looked down at the table, away from the eyes. She couldn't deal with this anymore!

Someone moved behind her.

"Shut it. You're _ **rude**_. She told you her ethnicity. Now leave her alone! She doesn't have to explain anything to you."

Tooth looked up to see her savior. A tall girl stood above her, glaring at the offending group.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "It was just a joke."

The girl frowned. "Well it's not funny. Cut it out."

The boy waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Stick up for your 'homies', right?" He laughed, looking pointedly over at a black kid across the room, who shifted around in his seat in discomfort. "Where are you from? China?"

The girl smirked. "As a matter of fact, I am. Henan, China."

The boy smirked back. "Oh? Figures. See guys, _she's_ Asian. Not like darkie over there." His friends let out embarrassed chuckles as he pointed at Tooth. Some seemed to find it genuinely funny while others were feeling the growing tension in the room. "Check it out, she looks mad! What, are you going to go all kung-fu on me, Jackie Chan?"

The Chinese girl moved and before Tooth could realize, the older girl's fist was buried deep into the boy's collar, lifting him out of his chair forcibly.

"What the-?!" he spluttered. His friends looked on in awe as their group member was dragged away.

"Who do you think you are? Get your hands off of me!" the boy demanded, struggling in her grip but unable to free himself.

"Hua, Mulan. You won't be forgetting it."

"You wanna' go? Huh?! You trying to pick a fight?"

"Sure." She released him and he jumped away from her. "Let's take it outside."

Tooth watched as they both marched out of the library. She was a little confused but more grateful than anything else.

Thor returned whilst everyone else was watching the scene play out by the library doors.

He looked around.

"Did I miss something? What happened?"

Tooth bit her lip as the words tumbled out of her. "Um, some boy was making fun of people and this girl just appeared and now I think they're fighting outside."

Thor's eyes swiveled over to her. "Did he bother you?"

Tooth shrugged. "A little. He was bothering everyone, being so loud."

"Loud about what? What'd he say?"

"Well...he asked where I was from."

"Oh. What's wrong with that?"

Tooth chuckled at Thor's curiosity. "It wasn't the question that bothered me, Thor. It was the way he asked it." Which was true. Tooth didn't mind those kinds of questions at all but she could have done without the little comments that made her feel bad and put her on the spot. Oh well. It was over now. The guy was gone. She wasn't surprised someone ended up saying something to him. At the rate he was going, he was going to piss off every race in the library!

Thor looked at her before turning towards the library entrance. A crowd was gathering. His eyes lit up "I want to see the fight!"

Tooth shook her head and blocked his way. "No! You need to review those chapters we talked about, no fighting!"

Thor pouted and settled back in his seat. He looked around for something to distract the vigilant tutor.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be at your dance thing in-"

_*Beep**Beep**Beep*_

Tooth looked at the watch on her wrist, smirking. "Yep! Right on time, Thor." She gathered her books up and swiftly packed them away before pushing away from the table to stand.

Thor smirked. "Loud watch you got there. So, uh, you're leaving then?

Tooth shrugged. "I need it to be loud. I use the watch to stay on track. And no looking at that fight! Keep up with your lessons!" She waved before jogging out the other exit, eager to avoid the crowd gathering by the other door.

Thor nodded. "Sure! Whatever you say…"

As soon as Tooth was out of sight, Thor flipped his book closed and joined the gathering crowd by the library's entrance. Peering through the glass with everyone else, he hooted and hollered, whistling the fight on.

Woah. Some guy was getting his _ass_ kicked.

* * *

Tooth raced down the sidewalk dodging this way and that. Her cardio had improved tremendously since school started.

She didn't have time for walking casually anymore. She had so many classes to attend, so many things to study for, that it was necessary to race from place to place. Sooner or later she'd have to buy a bicycle to keep up.

Her bag thumped against her as she sped along through the crowds. Her legs ached faintly, used to the routine by now.

When was the last time she ate? Slept? Just sat down and took a breather? She didn't know. Every day, it was go to class, study, tutor, dance practice, more studying, race to class again. Rinse, repeat.

She felt okay right now, but she wasn't too sure how long she'd be able to hold out.

Her phone rang again. Panting, she answered it, still dodging around crowds of people.

"Tooth?"

" _Huff_ \- hey Jack! What's- _huff-_ up? We're going to - _huff-_ meet up today, I promise."

"You always say that. Then something comes up."

"No, today - _huff-_ I'm serious! Promise! After - _huff-_ dance practice!"

"Are you running right now?"

" _huff-_ No...?"

"Sure. You know I'm only bugging you because I miss you, right? I haven't seen you in weeks. Let loose a little."

"M'sorry!"

She could hear Jack pause, fighting with something before he spoke softly, "It's cool. Just…don't skip this time, okay? And video chat with Bunnymund when you get a chance, he keeps whining about how he can't reach you."

"I will! And no skipping. I'll be there. Got to go!"

"See you then."

Tooth hung up, racing into the auditorium.

She would see Jack after dance practice! Finally. She almost did a little happy dance right there in the doorway.

Stepping inside, Tooth saw all the lithe dancers getting dressed up in their workout clothes. She unceremoniously dumped her bag by the door with the rest before rushing to slip on her workout clothes on too.

Blue and Puck sidled up beside her, watching intently as she changed.

Tooth wasn't bothered by their gazes. They had seen each other change too many times for it to be embarrassing. Besides, they were friends anyways. She saw them more than she saw Jack or Sandy. She wasn't sure if she was too happy about that, though.

"You're always panting and sweaty when you get here," Blue observed, running a finger down Tooth's bare side.

Tooth squeaked, jerking away with her arms tangled in her shirt. "I don't want to be late to practice!"

Puck's finger poked her other side, forcing her to squeal again. "You've never been late to practice, Toothiana. Not once. I'm sure Tinkerbell wouldn't mind if it happened once."

Shrugging her shirt on over her head, she laughed. "Well, I'm not going to test that theory!"

They all gathered with the others to stretch on the mats.

Side by side, the three of them sat and stretched their muscles out. Tinkerbell was strolling among the teammates and observing the stretching.

Tooth's stomach let out a ravenous sound.

Tinkerbell paused by their group, her mouth twisting into a distasteful shape.

The blonde leaned over and jabbed at Tooth's stomach. "Toothiana, I like my team to be thin and spritely but I want you all to be healthy too. Have you eaten today?"

Tooth shook her head meekly.

She didn't want Tinkerbell to be angry with her! It wasn't like she was purposely trying to starve herself, she just never had time to stop and eat between classes.

Tinkerbell shook her head before pulling Tooth off the mats and over to the benches.

"Toothiana, I see your work effort and I approve, but I don't want people to think I'm running my dancers ragged or enforcing anorexia. You need to slow down and take care of yourself. At least try to look cheerful once in a while. Here. I brought these grapes to snack on but I've eaten already. You have them."

Tooth's eyes widened. "Oh Tink, I couldn't-"

"Eat them. That's an order. And since you just ate, stretching isn't a good idea unless you want cramps from hell. Sit this practice out."

Tooth lowered her hands and accepted the fruit. Watching Tinkerbell walk away, she began eating the grapes faster and faster, her stomach clenching in anticipation to be filled again. Tooth nearly moaned, they tasted so good!

When Tinkerbell returned, she eyed the empty bowl before nodding in approval.

"Can I leave early?" Tooth asked hopefully. "I'm meeting my boyfriend after this."

Tink frowned. "No way!"

"...Huh?"

"The team is going to a fraternity party this evening and you're coming along. It's mandatory."

Tooth's eyes bugged. Jack! She was supposed to meet with him.

"B-but Tinkerbell, I've already got plans-"

Tinkerbell held her hand up and shook her head. "Spare me. Like I said, this one's mandatory. Like our other meet-ups were mandatory for team bonding, but this one was a deal between me and the head of the fraternity. If everything goes well, they might hire us for a few parties. We could use the funding for some new gear."

Tooth frowned. "Surely it doesn't matter if you're missing one girl, Tink!"

Tinkerbell stuck her nose up in the air. "Who's in charge here, Toothiana?"

Tooth looked to the ground.

"Thought so." Tinkerbell walked away.

Tooth bit her trembling lip, anger and frustration racing through her. Looking at her phone in her shaking fingers, she couldn't bring herself to call Jack and tell him the news.

He would be so disappointed…

* * *

He had waited long after her dance practice ended. He knew because he had memorized her schedule. Was it creepy? Yeah. But he had to, he was always trying to figure out that one slot of time she was free, those few moments where Tooth wasn't running around doing something. She was always busy these days.

He felt like a whiny child, but it just wasn't fair.

He had only come to this school for her and now he never even saw her. What was the point? He still didn't know what he wanted to do a month into school. Other kids seemed so certain on what they wanted to be.

He felt lost. She was his anchor, always had been. Along with North and the gang of course, but they were gone. The only ones he'd been hanging out with were Rudolph, Sandy, and some skater kids. Hell, Sandy hadn't even seen Tooth since the first week classes started. The poor guy was worried sick about her!

Was everything else that much more important to her than he was? He knew he shouldn't take it personal, but...

Maybe if he waited long enough...

And so he did. Jack waited at the fountain Tooth said she would meet him at.

He waited until the shadows stretched across the pavement and the sun started to lower.

He waited until Rudolph came outside to sit beside him, fidgeting and looking over in his direction as if he were a bomb waiting to blow. Rudolph tried to fill the silence with talk about his day.

Jack felt like Rudolph's anxiousness was well warranted because he kinda' felt like he was two seconds from exploding. Or sinking. He didn't know. But more than any anger or frustration he felt at being stood up, Jack felt hurt.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The pain creeping in was terrible. Worse than feeling nothing at all.

Nothing would be better.

Rudolph spoke on about classes, unaware of the boy slowing growing colder and colder beside him.

* * *

She never knew frat houses smelled so bad.

It had only been fifteen minutes and Tooth was already desperate to leave. The music sounded more like drums and bass and robot noises than anything she'd ever head before. The frat house smells assaulted her nasal passages with one hundred years of unhygienic boys and alcohol. There were too many people here, too many sounds and scents.

Tooth felt miserable.

She was seriously considering just telling Tinkerbell to go kick rocks and threaten to quit the dance team if she couldn't go, just to meet up with Jack and tell him how sorry she was and how she'd make it up to him. However, as she moved forward, Blue and Puck blocked her before she could go anywhere.

"Toothiana, you look so sad!" Blue stated. "Aren't you having any fun?"

Puck nodded. "Yeah, why don't you have a drink or two? Dance a little?"

Tooth shook her head. She wasn't all that different from how she had been in high school. She didn't like drugs or alcohol. She didn't like feeling like she wasn't in control of her own actions. Besides, those things were just…not for her!

"I don't drink."

Blue nodded in respect. "That's fine. But you picked a bad place to be sober."

Tooth chuckled as she glanced at all the party goers dancing sloppily beside them. "Yeah, I guess so."

Puck frowned. "I'm sorry Tink ruined your plans, Toothiana. We can't leave the party yet, though. Why don't you drink a little, just to take the edge off?"

Tooth frowned. She had said no, hadn't she? Wasn't that enough?

"I don't drink, Puck. No thanks."

He raised his hands up in surrender at her tone. "Hey! I'm not trying to pressure you, I just wanted to help. One drink is better than standing in this corner looking pissed all day."

Tooth looked over at the punch bowl. Voices from over the years trickled into her thoughts.

_'At least try to look cheerful once in a while.'_

_'Aren't you having any fun?'_

_'Let loose a little.'_

_'You're so energetic, you would have fun with other people...not boring bookworms like me...'_

_'At least I'm not like Grandma over here!'_

Tooth frowned before gathering up her nerve and marching over to the frat's punch bowl. She could have fun like them. She could party just as hard as anyone else.

Her friends watched in awe as she downed one drink, then another, then another on top of that.

After gulping noisily, she slammed the cups into a trash can. "There! Better? Am I 'letting loose' _now_? Wow, guzzling that...that sure was- eugh! It tastes so terrible! I don't even feel any different."

Blue looked on horrified while Puck laughed like a madman.

"Woah, Tooth! Didn't that burn going down your throat? That punch is more hard liquor than punch! You should've just had one, not three in a straight row. And on an empty stomach no less!"

Tooth smacked her lips, feeling her throat tingle from the liquor disguised by fruity flavors. "Oh…really?"

"Yeah!" Puck laughed harder as Blue smacked at his shoulder in annoyance.

Tooth had the decency to look embarrassed. She regretted the drinks instantly. Why had she let herself do that...? Drinking itself wasn't bad but Tooth felt bad about allowing her own personal values to be pushed aside so easily. She knew she didn't want to drink anything and yet she did it anyway. And what for? To have a horrible aftertaste in her mouth and fit in with everyone else? She began fanning her face off.

...Was it getting _warmer_ in here?

"Well, it didn't burn _that_ much," she lied, "and besides. I don't feel a thing."

"Not yet, you don't." Puck grinned.

Blue looked at the sweat gathering on Tooth's forehead in concern. "Tooth, why don't you head upstairs and check out the balcony? Get some air? You look a little warm, there."

Tooth nodded but she quickly stopped, realizing her vision was slowly starting to swim before her.

Uh oh.

Quickly, she made her way through the crowd to the stairwell of the frat house. She climbed the steps and stopped upon realizing that they seemed to be swishing under her.

 _'Bad idea. Terrible idea,'_ she thought vaguely, trying her best not to freak out right there on the steps.

She clambered up the rest of the steps and forced herself out onto the balcony, desperate for some fresh air. Though the breeze did not clear her head it did sweep away all the smells from the frat house and the sweat on her brow. She hummed contentedly.

The sun was still lowering but the skies were beautiful.

Sighing, Tooth leaned against the railing of the balcony and stared out at the campus.

"Hi there,"

Jumping, Tooth turned her head a little too fast. Blinking, her vision refocused on a boy that had been sitting on the railing of the balcony the entire time.

_'How did I miss that?'_

"That's dangerous," she blurted, watching the boy's legs dangle over the railing in the air. There was nothing between him and the three story fall down.

He shrugged. His leather jacket reflected lights off of the motion, a green flannel visible underneath.

Tooth noticed his eyes before anything else. They were green like emeralds and twinkled at her.

"Do…do I know you?" Tooth wondered, unaware of how her words were slowly meshing together.

The boy grinned slyly. "What? And I thought I had a bad memory. You don't remember me, Toothiana?"

Tooth squinted.

The boy sighed and ruffled his red hair before hoisting himself to his feet, right there on the railing. Tooth gasped and stepped back in awe as he balanced effortlessly on the railing. Taking a bow, he shot her a dashing smile.

"Peter Pan, at your service, Toothiana."

Tooth gasped. "Peter! You went to Burgess High with me!"

Peter grinned, nodding. "Bingo!"

"Where's Wendy?" Tooth pondered. "I thought you were going to study in England with her…?" That had been the big news back in Burgess. She had even seen Wendy and Alice talking during lunchtime about their plans to study in England together. Bunnymund had joined their talks numerous times, but she couldn't recall Peter ever joining them.

Peter's smile faded and even with Tooth's muddled mind she could tell that she had breached a bad topic.

"She left. She changed." Peter stated simply, "And I stayed."

"Oh," Tooth answered, unsure of what to say. "Well…do you attend Mythos, now?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't go to school."

"Huh? Well what are you doing here, at Mythos?"

Peter's smile returned. "I'm looking for guys. Recruits, you could call it. And I've got something special all the Mythos kids want."

Tooth's eyes widened as she stepped forward. "What is it?"

"A secret!"

Tooth frowned. "Can't be _that_ much of a secret if all the Mythos kids want it. C'mon, tell me!"

Tooth watched as Peter grinned slyly at her. The red head crept off of the ledge and swaggered over uncomfortably close to her, bringing something into her vision with a flick of his wrist. His hands were encased in thick, dark leather gloves.

Tooth blinked once, twice. "What's that?"

"I call it Dust."

Tooth frowned. "Dust? Like…dust from under a couch?"

Peter laughed. "Nope, more like dust from a fairy's wings or dust from a dream. Dust from a shooting star. It'll make you feel like you're flying, I promise. Here. I'll let you try some for free. Since we're old friends."

Tooth shook her head wildly and stepped away. "Try some...? Oh! That's- I…I don't do drugs, Peter." Even she was surprised by how soft and vulnerable her voice sounded. She had already made one mistake on the drinks earlier. She wasn't making another one!

Peter laughed at her like she told him a joke. "You've obviously been drinking like a sailor, Tooth. Alcohol's a drug. Besides, it's not a big deal. It's just a little Dust. Nothing like coke or speed or any of that other stuff. Dust is light, clean, and it gets the job done."

Tooth shook her head. Even with her vision spinning like crazy now, even with her words getting jumbled, she knew this was a bad idea.

"No."

Peter shrugged. "That's cool. I can respect that." Walking away, Tooth felt curiosity itch up her spine, the liquor making things hazy again.

"Why are you selling that stuff, Peter? Why aren't you going to school?"

Peter turned at that, his smile back.

"It makes you happy, Tooth. Real happy. Happier than you've ever been."

Tooth's brows furrowed. "Do you use it?"

Peter shook his head. "Nope. Don't need to. I'm already happy. I live wherever I want, go wherever I want, do whatever I want. No one tells me what to do. I'm free. You college kids? Hell no. You guys are being shaped into mindless drones for the workforce and you don't even realize it. You're letting them suck the youth out of you. You guys need the Dust more than I do. None of you are even happy. That's why you all go to parties like this and drink until you forget. Are you happy, Tooth?"

She tried to contemplate his words, his question to her.

Was she happy? Studying all the time?

"I never wanted to come to this party," she mumbled, "I wanted to see Jack."

Peter stretched out his hand once more. "You don't even need a party for this stuff, Tooth. You don't need alcohol or music or school, or even 'Jack'. This'll make you fly higher than any of that stuff. You wanna' fly?"

Tooth stumbled, staring at the powder in Peter's palm. It looked shiny and strange. Not at all ominous or evil like how all those anti-drug commercials made drugs appear to be.

"I just want to be happy," she mumbled. Everything was so hazy now.

"Give it a try, then. It won't kill you. What's the worst that could happen?"

A lot. Tooth knew that.

She knew better. She _knew_ better. But if it could make her forget about her practices, her classes, her homework, that damn watch forever buzzing on her wrist, then…maybe...just once couldn't hurt?

No.

"Thanks Peter, but I'm gonna' go back downstairs now."

Peter giggled at her. "Scared? Here, just give it a feel."

Tooth rolled her eyes at his insistence before poking a few fingers into the powdered mound. "Happy?"

"Always. You'll be pretty soon, too."

Tooth frowned, pulling her hand away. "What?"

The redhead shrugged, lifting up his gloved hands. "You don't need to smoke or snort it to feel the high. Just touch is enough. Why do you think I'm wearing these?"

Tooth's eyes widened. " _What?!_ " She shook her hand, trying to wipe the powder off.

"No use," Peter teased, "your skin's already absorbed it.

Tooth glared at him, infuriated. "Peter, Wendy wasn't the one who changed. _You_ did. Jerk!"

Peter's eyes twinkled as his old classmate stomped away. He didn't need to convince her.

The Dust would do that for him.

Tooth looked for a sink to wash her hand in. Touching that stuff without knowing what it was had been the worst idea. As if that crap was really potent enough to make her high through a touch! Yeah right...

She realized approximately twenty-three minutes into the party that Peter hadn't been kidding.

When the unexplainable feeling of euphoria hit her, Tooth grew too energetic to be scared. Trembling, she shuffled towards the dance floor.

She danced until her heels hurt and then danced some more. The floor slipped around beneath her feet, moving with the beat. Her thoughts were slipping out with the floor, all of it was flowing away. A bit of fear sparked within her and her last bit of reason warned her.

The Dust silenced it.

Tooth spun around the room with the crowds, losing sight of Blue and Puck and all the other dancers after a while. Her hand throbbed.

Bright blue eyes and white hair caught her attention from the corner of the room. The same ones that had been focusing on her since she came down from the frat balcony. Even with liquor and whatever Peter had given her in her system, Tooth could feel the eyes on her. More than once had she glanced over at the pale figure. She would always forget the face and wonder before looking back at the stranger. They were often approached by others but the stranger did not leave their corner of the room.

What were the features again? Hair so blonde that it may as well have been white, dark blue eyes. Skin as white as snow. Jack had lighter eyes but Tooth wasn't sure if maybe her vision was messed up or if she was indeed looking at her boyfriend.

"…Jack…?" she whispered, stumbling over to the figure.

"No," the stranger answered in a soft voice answered.

"Oh," Tooth mumbled, "thought you were Jack. You look like him."

"Who is he?" the soft voice asked again. The Dust was making the stranger's voice sound more heavenly than Tooth had ever imagined a voice could sound. It sounded like a voice that could pry all her secrets from her with a simple question.

"My boyfriend. Best friend. I love him _so_ much. He misses me, y'know? I never have time, clock always ticking."

Tooth could not grab a full grasp on the person standing before her, but all she knew was that the stranger was beautiful.

Recognition sparked deep within Tooth's drug-addled mind.

"Oh! _You_. I kicked you in the hall before."

The girl stepped back a bit. "It's fine."

"Lemme' see your arm," Tooth insisted, cornering the girl.

"No, it's fine," the girl waved away the notion but Tooth was having none of it. She reached out and grabbed the white arm before inspecting it. Even with blurred vision she could see a faint purple bruise still marring the white skin.

"Sorry," Tooth tried, nuzzling the arm with a smile on her face, "m'so sorry. Forgive me?"

The girl seemed to have stopped breathing. A hand pushed at Tooth's head, forcing her away gently.

"It's alright," the girl insisted quietly. "I'm fine. But are you? You seem…like you're on something."

Tooth shrugged awkwardly. "Peter showed me his secret. Makes you happy. I touched it and now my hand hurts."

The DJ changed the song and a new beat thrummed in the air. Without so much as a goodbye, Tooth headed towards the dance floor once more, the Dust thrumming to the beat in her veins.

The stranger watched her go.

* * *

Jack turned to Rudolph, tired of waiting. "She hasn't picked up her phone."

Rudolph seemed to freeze under his roommate's gaze, scrambling for the right words. "Maybe she's doing something? I have a car. We can go hang out somewhere else if you want-"

Jack's phone buzzed. Quicker than lightning, he was on the line speaking. "Tooth? Tooth where are you?"

"…Jshhk…."

Jack's brows furrowed and he looked at his phone in confusion before returning it to his ear. "Tooth?"

"Jack," the voice came clearer this time, "Jack I'm…I'm really tired."

"Where are you?" Rudolph cowered at the sound of Jack's voice, but Tooth seemed strangely unaffected.

"Dunno'. Party. Dance team wanted me to go."

"Are you…? Tooth, what did you do?"

"A little, just a little. Mm, no I lied. A lot. Just a lot. Punch tastes bad."

Jack's throat closed up as worry filled him. Tooth didn't _drink_...did she...? "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"Mhmm. I was happy awhile ago, but now I don't feel too great."

"Tooth, listen carefully. I need you to tell me where you are so I can come get you. Is it an apartment? An event? A frat house?"

"Mhmm."

"Which one?"

"Frat. Smells bad."

"Where is it?"

Tooth rambled off the address and Jack echoed it to Rudolph, who was grabbing his keys and shrugging on a jacket.

"Tooth, stay where you are. Don't move. My roommate and I are going to come get you."

He could hear vacant talking and laughing on the other side before Tooth's voice returned once more. "Jack, I can't find my friends. I'm going to follow these other kids. They have a car. They'll take me home."

Jack could hear the other group hooting and hollering, laughing like crazy. No doubt they were all blasted drunk too. Jack felt his heart drop.

"Tooth, _no_. Don't get in anyone's car, I'm coming for you."

Tooth giggled before hiccuping. "But they're really nice. It's okay Jack."

"Tooth, don't-"

A click resounded and Jack turned on Rudolph. He wasn't too sure how his face looked, but Rudolph's expression filled with worry.

"Get your car started. We have to leave. Right. Now."

* * *

Tooth had tried to follow the other drunk kids into their car, but the stranger stopped her.

Tooth frowned at the pale hand on her. She wanted to go where the others were going! They were fun and nice to her and laughing. Just like old times. _North, Bunny, Sandy, Jack_ -

"Hey, no. Stay with me."

With great hesitation the stranger forced herself to pull Tooth away from the car and closer to the sidewalk.

Tooth stumbled away from the car, ignoring the bleated protests from the drunken group. Looking up, Tooth glared at the stranger-that-looked-like-Jack.

"I want to go home," she pouted.

"Alright, but you won't get home in one piece with those guys. Stay here, I'll go find a sober frat guy to drive us."

As the stranger left, Tooth tried to follow blindly.

She didn't want to be left alone again! She missed Jack and her friends and Burgess and being truly happy, not fake-Dust-happy, and she just wanted someone to hold her hand.

Her mouth growing even drier, Tooth's head started to spin and she climbed up the frat house steps.

Her vision went dark and for a moment, Tooth felt weightless. Falling...no...flying...?

 _'I'm really flying!'_ Tooth thought. _'Oh my gosh, Peter was right! I'm-'_

_**CRUNCH** _

Red flared out instantly across the darkness, and Tooth's head rocked as her mouth collided with the frat steps. A great crack resounded through the night air.

Screams and sound erupted around her, but in Tooth's head everything was numb and dimmed. Her lips felt raw and her head felt fuzzy. The pain was increasing exponentially as the numbness slipped away into horrifying realization.

Bringing her hands to her mouth, Tooth stood shakily and glanced down at the steps. There were small spots of red on the stone and bits of something else…what was…?

Oh.

A tooth.

Her fingers went cold as she continuously stared at the solitary tooth laying on the frat steps.

_'It's not real.'_

And yet there it lay, winking in the streetlight at her, shiny and red.

Her knees gave out on her and Tooth nearly threw up right there on the frat steps. Shaking, she glanced around at the steps.

Party goers were surrounding her and she could tell from all the whispers and shouts and boat shoes and heels closing in on her, but all Tooth could focus on were the other white fragments laying across the steps of the frat house.

Her…oh _god_.

A strange sound reached her ears. Almost like a keening, hitched wail. It took her a second to process that it was _her_ making the sound.

A car beeped.

Something tingled in her chest and unsure why, she looked up.

There, hopping out of the car and heading straight towards the frat house was Jack.

He looked like a furious god from a painting, descending down to smite her. Tooth wasn't sure whether she should yell joyful praises or throw herself at his feet in apology.

He raced up the steps, his eyes sharp and hard. "What the hell were you thinking Tooth? Getting in a car with a driver whose been drinking? You could've gotten killed! You remember what happened to me behind the wheel all those years ago? Drunk drivers destroy lives. You know can't just put yourself in danger like that-!"

Tooth sobbed brokenly, grabbing at Jack's pant leg. His voice froze at the sound of her, the look on her face.

"Are you okay?" He leaned down and his face went whiter than Tooth had ever seen it go. He brushed her lips, pulling back red fingers. "Tooth, open your mouth. Let me see."

Tooth shook her head furiously, her vision blurring and feeling even sicker than before. She glanced at the step she hit face first, looking at the red staining and chipped white pieces. Her shoulders started to shake as she tasted gravel and teeth fragments in her mouth.

"Tooth, c'mon."

She squeezed her eyes shut tight, tears escaping through. She didn't run her tongue across her teeth, she just couldn't…

"Please, Tooth. For me."

Opening her eyes, she looked into Jack's icy pools. Though anyone else looking upon the scene might not be able to see past the coldness in them, she could see the love in them, the concern.

Slowly, she parted her aching lips and bared her teeth.

Jack's reaction made her stomach roll. He quickly tried to hide his worried expression, which made her feel even worse. She fixed her lips together to speak with his fingers still lingering on her jaw.

"Jack, say it's not bad. Say it's okay, please tell me my teeth are…"

But she already knew.

Just from the sound of her own voice, the clicking of her teeth when she spoke and the empty spaces that weren't there before

Jack tried shushing her, rubbing her shoulder.

It really _wasn't_ that bad but he knew how important teeth were to her. She was going to flip a lid if she saw what he was seeing. "It's just three off to the side, it's not…it's not tha-"

Jack stopped as Toothiana crumpled to the sidewalk, hiding her face in shame. She was gripping her hair so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Jack pried them out of the black strands and into his grip so she wouldn't hurt herself.

Looking around at the drunk bystanders, Jack scowled. What did they think this was, a circus? He scooped Tooth up and she quickly held onto him, hiding her face into his neck.

Together, they moved in the direction of Rudolph's car. Rudolph lingered behind to shoo people away and inspect the steps where Tooth had fallen.

A blonde came racing down the steps after them, getting in Jack's way. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Get out of the way," Jack hissed, shouldering past her. She grabbed at him.

"She's my dancer! I'm in charge, so tell me what happened."

Jack turned on her, the daggers in his eyes pinning Tinkerbell where she stood. "I'll tell you what happened. You didn't do your job. 'Your dancer' was about to get in a car with an inebriated driver and was wandering around outside a frat house- alone and intoxicated- for god knows how long! I don't even know how I made it here in time before she left with them."

Tinkerbell paused in front of him. "That's-! I-"

"Move," Jack ordered again.

"Now hold up! I'm in charge here, so-"

"Get the _fuck_ out of my way, or so help me-"

The icy tone made Tinkerbell moved quicker than she ever had before, allowing the white haired boy to brush past her and load Tooth into the car.

Rudolph raced back to the car. He glanced at Tinkerbell curiously before leaping into the driver's side. The engine revved and soon they were cruising onto the road.

Tinkerbell couldn't stop the remnant chills that raced up her spine as the car sped away into the warm night. What the hell? What had happened? She hoped that her dancer was alright and that the Dance team wouldn't get a bad reputation for this whole mess. It seemed strange to her. Why was someone as organized and studious as Tooth dating someone so rugged and mean? He seemed all bite, to Tink.

Peter sidled up beside her. "Woah...that guy sure had a nasty attitude, didn't he?"

Tinkerbell smiled and turned, glad to have the tall redhead nearby. Ever since he started hanging around Mythos her heart had been beating a little faster. "Sure did. I hope he's not forcing my dancer into dating him, he seems 'off'. Did you see what happened?"

Peter kept his face blank and shrugged. "Nope."

Tinkerbell lowered her shoulders. "Oh well. I'll get it all sorted out next practice. But I wonder-"

"Hey," Peter interrupted, "wanna' go back inside?" He lifted his arm up for her to hold. Gleefully, Tinkerbell held onto it. Together, they walked back to the frat house. She sidestepped around a girl on the steps.

"Watch it," Tinkerbell called. Her eyes bugged when she saw the stranger's reddened hands. "Ew! Throw those away! Why would you touch those bare-handed? Get a tissue at least."

Tinkerbell's cries were ignored. The girl watched the car turn the corner out of sight, her pale fist clenching around the teeth from the steps.


	3. First Meetings at MU

Jack Frost wasn't scared of much.

Spiders could dance along the white on his fingers and he would twitch his knuckles to help them along their way. Snakes could cross his path and he would stare on, unfazed. Blood didn't stir anything primal in him and heights were somewhat favorable.

His fears were few, simple, and justifiable. Many others in the world, like him, feared bad decisions and the death of loved ones.

The stranger things that scared him were easy enough to hide. Cars that went a little too fast, liquor, lakes, swimming pools, the occasional bathtub.

The difference between him and the others was that one could know Jack Frost for years and never know what he feared, if he chose to keep it under wraps. He could drive cars now with a careful mask. He could pass large bodies of water without shaking. He could join conversations on tragedies and familial death without his palms getting too sweaty or his mind fleeing to the primal instinct of running.

He thought he had conquered most of his fears.

But after the first few weeks at college Jack realized that he feared much more than he originally thought. He was scared of not knowing where his life was going. He was scared of disliking school the way he did. He was scared of the future.

Most of all, he was frightened of Tooth's silence.

The smiles faded into nothing and the words died before they could even pass her lips. Silence was deafening without her words there to fill it.

Never had she been so quiet and blank as she had been the past few days.

Never had Jack been so scared.

* * *

"Are you hungry?"

She shook her head.

"Thirsty?"

Again, a quiet 'no'.

She could feel the bright eyes daggering her. She could see the frown reflecting out of the window she gazed in her peripheral vision.

A cold hand touched her shoulder gently. It spoke volumes more than the concern in his voice ever could, for Jack rarely touched people, if he could avoid it. She knew he was self conscious about the texture and temperature of his palms. Too many times he had accidentally brushed his fingers against the skin of someone else only to have them yelp and pull away.

Tooth had always thought it was stupid for him to hide it. It wasn't like he couldn't help it. So he ran a little colder.

Now, with the gaps in her teeth, she could understand why 'hiding' seemed like the right choice. She didn't want anyone to see, hear, or even hint at the disaster that her pearly whites had become.

Jack's voice brought her back to the present moment. She had been drifting often these days.

"Do you want to go back to your dorm room tonight?"

The only movement that she had done all day was the sudden grab she made for his arm. Squeezing it tightly she looked at him with a pleading expression.

"Alright," he said. He wouldn't force it.

She had been hiding out in Jack's dorm room over the weekend. And a few days into the week. And the weekend after that.

Tooth missing class was unheard of to Jack and their old group of friends. He hated to think of what the guys would say if they saw the state Tooth was in now. Though no one had said it out loud, Jack knew that the others had entrusted her to him. He figured he was doing an awful job of protecting her. "You can stay here."

She had slept on the little beanbag couch by the window, silently refusing Jack's offer to share his bed or take Rudolph's. She sent her homework in electronically through her computer. The only times she left were to grab new clothes, bathe, drink, or take a particularly important test.

Jack hadn't seen her eat in the last two days and it was freaking him out. She seemed to be drinking vegetable and fruit shakes to make up for the sudden absence of solid food, but that worried him even more, as if she were planning on not eating for a long time. He had brought her little gifts of her favorite foods that he had picked up after class, hoping she would at least nibble on something. All of the gifts remained untouched on the window sill.

He had a feeling it was either because her mouth still hurt or because she didn't want to feel the missing teeth as she chewed.

"Tooth," he tried, ignoring the threatening crack in his voice, "you can't just…shut down. What about your classes? What about your clubs?"

She curled in on herself and looked out the window. It appeared to Jack that she was trying to shut off the conversation.

He went on anyway.

"Your captain called. Thor too. They're wondering what happened. North, Bunnymund, they've-"

Tooth shot him an unbelieving look. He wasn't supposed to tell any of the old gang or anyone else about this for that matter! It was embarrassing enough that what happened at the party even _happened_ , but for him to tell others about it…

"Yeah, I said something," Jack went on, insistent, "they're worried about you. I'm worried. You won't talk. You won't eat. I- I don't know what you want me to do."

_'I want you to leave things alone.'_

Jack paused as if he could hear her thoughts and frowned. "You just want to hide here forever? You need to talk to someone about it. You need to eat food, real food. You need to tell your dad what happened-"

"-Don't tell me what I need to do!" She raised a hand over her mouth, hiding it. Her voice was sudden and raspy, but angered enough to give the little volume in her tone power.

Jack responded back just as suddenly. "I'm only saying it because you know it's true! Your dad can help you out. He can fix the damage. Yeah, maybe he'll be disappointed that it happened at all, but you'll be happier that you told him in the end."

Tooth pointedly turned away from him to face the window.

"You don't want to hear it from me? Fine. Get another perspective. I'll call Sandy right now-"

"-No, he's busy-!"

"Too busy for _you_? Doubt it." Jack knew Sandy adored Tooth just like him and all the others did.

Calling a mute kid from Jack's phone would be trouble because Jack's old cellphone only had audio. Texting wasn't really an option right now. They needed something a little more personal.

Tooth's sticker phone had the visual face-to-face feature that allowed the caller to see who they were called. They could sign with Sandy through that.

"Where's your phone?" Jack asked.

Tooth shrugged avoiding his gaze.

"Is it back in your dorm room?"

"…"

Jack sighed and headed out the door and down to her dorm, worrying the whole way. It was only luck that their RA, Gilgamesh, hadn't realized that Tooth had been camping out in the boys living quarters for this long.

He passed Rudolph on the steps.

"Oh- hi Jack! How's uh…is she still…?"

Jack nodded in exasperation. "Yeah, she's still glued to that beanbag chair. I'm going to try and kickstart things with a few phone calls, get her out of this funk she's in. If she glares at you just ignore it. She's not feeling like herself lately."

Rudolph gulped. "Yeah, that's fine. I know she's…she likes teeth, right? And hers broke so…"

"…She's been having a week long meltdown. In our room. I'm sorry."

Rudolph shook his head. "Ah, it's alright. She's your girlfriend after all."

Jack stepped closer to his roommate. "Thanks Rudy. I know it hasn't been easy on you, the tension in the room the last couple of days."

Rudolph tried to laugh it off but Jack insisted. "No really man. You were a huge help that night up till now. You didn't have to do all that stuff. I owe you big time."

Red bloomed across Rudolph's face as he looked around nervously. "N-no problem!"

Jack nodded before continuing down the steps and heading across campus. Without his roommate's efficient helping Jack would have never made it to the party in time to stop Tooth from going with those drunk drivers. He still wondered how he ever made it in time. If only he could have made it there before she fell and hurt herself.

Ah well. He'd preferred that she lost a few teeth rather than her life. Small victories.

When he reached Tooth's room in her residence hall he knocked on the door.

A tall, creepy looking wraith of a girl opened it and Jack could see behind her that the room was pitch black. Did something just caw…?

The girl glared expertly at him.

"Can I come in…?" Jack asked hesitantly, not really wanting to anymore. "I need to grab a few things of Tooth's."

The girl's sharp eyebrows lifted at the name.

"Where has she been? What did you do to her?" She moved aside, letting Jack in the room but not letting up on the interrogation.

He tried his best to ignore the barrage of questions and made his way to Tooth's side of the room looking through piles and piles of books and clothing. He searched through her blankets before pulling out the familiar tooth-stickered phone.

"...Answer me, boy!"

Jack grabbed a few of the books he was looking for and put them in his duffel bag. He turned to the girl. "Don't worry. I'm glad she has a roommate like you to care for her so much."

"Are you being sarcastic with me?" Maleficent asked lowly.

Jack shook his head. "Nope. I mean that. Honest. I would've been worried if you hadn't asked anything about where'd she been the past couple of days. I'm sure she misses you too."

Maleficent guffawed. " _'_ Misses _'_ …? I don't 'miss' her and I'm not worried. We're not even-"

"-Friends?" Jack looked at her skeptically. "Tooth makes friends faster than anyone else I know. If she's not your friend you're definitely _hers_. Besides you have weird, sharp canines. She digs that stuff. Oh," he said, spotting the large raven, "nice crow. Are pets even allowed in here?"

" _Raven_. And we're _not_ friends. And my canines are perfectly shaped, how dare you suggest otherwise?"

"She'll be back either tonight or tomorrow if my plan goes well. See you around."

Maleficent fumed behind him as Jack walked out and closed the door before the tall girl could slam it on him.

Turning around, he jumped.

Another girl stood before the door looking as if she had been about to knock. Her white fist hovered near Jack's forehead.

For a length they stared at one another.

Jack's head cocked to the side. Looking at this girl was almost like looking into a mirror. It made him feel a little weird.

"Is this room 364?" she asked stiffly.

"Yeah." Jack responded.

"I found it in the school's directory."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"…"

"…"

"Does…Toothiana live here?"

"Yeah. No. Well, she does but she's fused to a beanbag chair in my room right now. So no, she's not here right now."

The girl frowned. "Should I come back another time?"

He nodded.

A look of curiosity flashed through her eyes and she opened her mouth before closing it and walking away.

He watched her before going his own way.

Jack jogged down the hall and exited the building before juggling Tooth's things in his hand and bringing up her phone. The screen lit up and he navigated through her contacts as he walked.

Most of the pictures for her contacts were smiles. Smiles of the people listed in her phone.

Jack couldn't stop the cringe that overtook him. _'Uh...'_ It was kind of…no it was really creepy. He wasn't surprised, but…really? And _how_ did she get them all to…and _when_ did she take that picture of him…?

Jack brushed away the questions and quickly found Sandy's name, his small-toothed smile picture next to it. Jack called the boy with the face-to-face setting enabled.

Sandy's face soon took up the entire screen. The chubby boy's initial excitement faded into confusion at the sight of Jack's face.

"Sorry, I'm not Tooth. I'm in a hurry and my hands are full so just hear me out?"

Sandy nodded.

"You in class?"

"Sandy nodded again but after a few moments of shuffling on screen, the blonde boy was out in a hallway somewhere. He faced the phone again, giving it a thumbs-up.

"Cool. So, erhm, to cut to the point Tooth got hurt at a party a few nights ago. She fell and lost two teeth and fractured one, but I'm not completely sure. She hasn't opened her mouth to show me since that night and puts her hand over her mouth when she talks now. Which is rarely."

Sandy's eyes bugged.

"Yeah. You can imagine how she's doing right now."

Sandy did a few frantic signs.

Jack looked apolegetic. "Sorry man, I've been kind of rusty on the ASL. We haven't all been together in a while."

Sandy rolled his eyes before nodding and pointing at Jack.

"Me? How am I doing?"

Sandy shook his head.

"Oh. Um..Me? _What_ am I doing?"

Sandy shook his head again before pointing to his teeth, making explosive hand movements, and then pointing once more at Jack. Jack had to guess a few more times before pinpointing what Sandy was asking. " _Where_ was I when she broke her teeth?"

Sandy nodded eagerly, a glint of something dangerous in his eyes.

Jack tried not to look unnerved. "I was waiting for her on the other side of campus. We were going to hang out that day but her dance team went to some gig at a frat house. That's where she got tipsy before tripping and you know."

Sandy's eyes bugged even wider.

"I know right?" Jack answered, heading into his residence hall. "Tooth doesn't even drink! I don't know why she was doing it. She won't tell me anything else. She barely talks now, Sandy. I need you to talk to her. She'll talk to you."

Sandy nodded determined.

"Okay, hold on. I'm giving the phone to her."

Jack pushed into his room before dumping the duffel on his desk. Tooth and Rudolph looked up at the sudden noise. Tooth's eyes roved over the items spilling out of the bag, familiarity in her eyes.

Jack stepped into her line of sight, pushing the phone towards her. "It's Sandy."

Tooth shook her head wildly, trying to get up and away from the phone. Jack moved towards her.

"Tooth, it's okay. He wants to talk to you, see what's going on. You don't even have to vocalize. I'll hold the phone while you guys do your thing via ASL."

Pausing a moment, Tooth nodded.

Jack couldn't see Sandy but he watched as Tooth moved through various hand signs and gestures, communicating towards the phone. Her expression tightened as the conversation continued. Rudolph stared at the scene, mesmerized.

Even though the room was silent Jack knew a lot was being said. Tooth's movements became less smooth and slower as the glassiness in her eyes became full on unbidden tears. It hurt to watch but Jack knew she needed someone to talk to, an outlet where she could express herself whilst hiding her teeth at the same time.

His arms strained but Jack held the phone for nearly an hour while Tooth continued to talk to Sandy. There seemed a moment where the two were arguing, Tooth making the same gesture over and over with a frustrated look before giving in and continuing on to other symbols.

Eventually, Tooth's tears began to roll and she sniffled, nodding her head in submission. She looked at the phone with a chastised look before smiling with her lips together, a giggle muffled behind them.

Then she did a few symbols that Jack did recognize.

_I love you._

_I miss you._

_Goodbye._

Tooth lowered her arms and Jack turned the phone towards himself with aching fingers. Sandy looked back at him, eyes a little red-rimmed but smiling. Sandy gave another thumbs up before closing the call.

Jack put the phone on his desk and watched as Tooth rubbed at her eyes with a softened expression. She answered Jack's silent question with a hand covering her mouth.

"Sandy said the same thing you did. Tell my dad." She sighed. "I knew you were right. Sandy's right, too. It's just…hard. Dad had so much faith in me being on my own and I failed him. He's going to be so upset with me." Her words choked off and she buried her face in her hands.

His skin itched at the sight of her despair. Jack looked around before picking up a scrapbook out of the duffel bag on his desk. He opened up to a random page and stood next to Tooth, holding it up for her.

Tooth lowered her hands to see the various sketches of their friends and their teeth. Doodles were drawn all along the sides. She grew quiet and the tears slowly stopped.

Jack began slowly, thinking out his words.

"You made a mistake. I've made them too. But look. You drew all these. You love these. I know how much it hurts you that yours got messed up-" she flinched, "-but it is _fixable_. All you have to do is tell your dad. He's been in dentition for decades, he can fix this, he won't hate you for messing up once. Even if he does get mad, he'll eventually accept it and forgive you. There's nothing to forgive, really. Everybody messes up once in a while."

"After how long will he forgive me, though?" Tooth wondered vaguely, tracing a finger down her sketchpad. "Your dad didn't talk to you properly for a year after your mistake. How can I know what to expect from my dad?"

Instantly, Tooth realized it was the wrong thing to say, a low blow. Jack drew taught like a bow next to her.

She pulled her finger away from the sketchpad.

Should she apologize? But she honestly wanted to know! The words were harsh but true. She couldn't help but feel selfish and desired an answer more than she desired to spare Jack's feelings.

Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Did his roommate know about Jack's accident? Rudolph was still there in the room, glancing at Jack curiously, who pointedly kept his gaze from both of them.

Jack suddenly looked at her, really looked at her for a moment. Tooth seemed to wilt under his gaze looking away in shame.

He could feel frustration slowly turn into anger inside him.

Their mistakes were different. His mistake was plunging him and his sister into a near-hypothermic death. Hers was drinking too much at a party and losing her footing. The price of his mistake involved police and hospitals and years of guilt, trauma, phobia, you name it. Her issues could be fixed within a day or two. _As **if**_ her parents would react similarly to how his had. How could she even think…

Something dark in him wanted to hurt her for even comparing their problems. After all the things he had done for her.

He gasped quietly, scared back into the moment.

He didn't…he didn't want to hurt Tooth. No. He wanted to _help_ her. Yeah. That's why he was doing this. He had gotten past this side of himself hadn't he? He didn't need mean words or an icy disposition to defend himself. He fought down the icy retorts that had sprung on his tongue and tried to calm himself. He didn't want to lash out. He didn't want to be cruel.

Breathing deep, Jack tried to remember that Tooth was a studious, honest kid that never got into trouble and that this incident was probably the worst thing to happen to her so far in her young life. He tried to remember that he couldn't possibly understand how deeply this affected her, that he didn't love teeth as much as she did.

"I don't know your dad the way you do." Jack tried. Tooth's fearful look melted away at the calm in his voice. He continued steadily. "I do know he cares and wants the best for you. He would want you to tell him."

Tooth nodded eagerly glad to see that Jack wasn't mad at her. "I'm sorry for even mentioning-"

"-It doesn't matter." Jack waved it off like it was nothing.

"It does! It hurt you," she insisted, knowing good and well that it mattered to him. "What I said before? I know it did. I…I know our problems and parents aren't even comparable, I just was…I don't know-"

Jack shrugged and playfully elbowed her. "It's fine. I'm over it. We're good."

"Just like that...?" she questioned.

"Just like that."

Tooth lifted a hand over her widening grin and buried her face into Jack's collar bone, her arms wrapping around him tightly. He held her back.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Tooth nodded.

Jack seemed to be trying to lace his words with neutrality and warmth. "I know you're not a kid anymore and you can do what you want but...I thought you didn't like to drink?"

Tooth sighed, burying her face into him. "I don't."

"Then why were you? Drinking, I mean?"

Tooth thought about it. Why had she that night? Things were foggy and hazy, but she could recall feelings of inadequacy and needing to prove herself. She could recall something else besides liquor. A powder? A dust? But that didn't make sense. "If I tell you, you'll laugh at me."

"Try me," Jack insisted. He tightened his hug on her.

Feeling a little safer in his arms Tooth tried her best to explain. "I don't remember too well now but I think I was feeling bad about breaking my promise to you. Some friends noticed and told me to let loose. I wasn't going to drink anything but then I just started thinking about all these times I was a fun-suck or a party pooper. I didn't want to be like that and I didn't want to be sad anymore, so I...I drunk way more than I should have."

Jack looked confused. "You're not a fun-suck."

"I was just standing around feeling bad at a party, Jack. That's not exactly promoting fun."

"Did the drinks help?"

Tooth sighed. "Yeah, until I bust my face on concrete." Jack cringed. Tooth went on. "I must look so lame to you. We're in college and I can't even...it's like, I'm the cliche' goody-two shoes kid drinks to impress and can't even hold her liquor. I lost teeth over it. So stupid..."

Jack's cool fingers gripped her chin and tilted her face up to his. "Don't talk about yourself like that. Look, I'm not telling you not to drink ever. It's college. Of course you can. And you're also allowed to say no. No one's going to force you to. I just don't want you to overdo it again. I want you to be safe. If you ever feel pressured or weird or upset...you can call me, y'know? You can tell me. Even if you think I might get mad or laugh, I want you to tell me."

Tooth let her eyelids slip closed as she absorbed his words. Sometimes he made her feel so different than how she felt about herself. He often treated her like an equal, sometimes even like an average acquaintance that wasn't his girlfriend. Still, his cool nature and off-handedness made the intimate moments like these that much more special. Most days he treated her like she could handle herself, but he also remembered the days where she just needed to fall apart and have him help pick up the pieces. Tooth liked the days where she could become something fragile and simply hide away from it all in his arms.

Sometimes people at Mythos wondered if they were actually dating, if the icy boy really cared about her and her dyed hair and her teeth posters. Feeling the cool arms wrapping around her and slotting their bodies together, she knew she already had her answer.

She burrowed further into him, gripping tightly into the hug. Jack stood still and let her get her fill before she lifted herself onto her toes and planted a long kiss on his jaw.

Blushing, Jack tried to aim one on her lips but she backed off like his lips were on fire.

"Not until my teeth are fixed!" she squealed. "I don't want you to feel the broken ones!"

"I don't care," Jack said honestly, "the less that are in the way, the easier it is to get to your-"

"-ohmygod _Jack_!"

Rudolph grimaced. "Gross. And I hardcore feel like a third wheel right now."

Jack turned at that with a quirked brow. "What? What happened to that kid, 'A Wee Loopty'? The Cherokee kid? I thought you guys were hitting it off great."

Rudolph looked as if he wanted to crawl into a hole. "His name is 'Awi Usdi', and-

"-Or the Canadian guy Bambi from your volunteer group? You were talking about him for ages-"

Rudolph shook his head wildly. "Jack, um, please stop revealing all of my cru-"

"-Or that girl Qilin? She was pretty. I thought she liked you."

"I am never telling you anything else again!" Rudolph yelled, leaping across the room clapping his hand over's Jack's mouth. "Stop telling the world my secrets!" His nose grew intensely red.

Tooth laughed loud, forgetting to cover her mouth as Rudolph pulled away from Jack with a wet hand. "Eugh! Jack, is this…spit?! This better not be spit, man…why is it so cold? This is sick!" Rudolph wiped the wet hand across Jack's forehead, who yelled in surprise.

"Rudy, that's freezing."

"It's _your_ spit!"

Jack turned back to Tooth with Rudolph's hands still wiping at him. "Speaking of guys and girls- there was a girl looking for you back at your dorm."

Tooth tilted her head. "Who, my roommate?"

"Nope. Some other girl. Didn't catch her name."

Tooth nodded. Who would be looking for her? She shrugged before picking up her phone and dialing

" _Sawatdee kah_ , dad. _Sabaidee mah_? …Yes, I'm fine! Well actually…I have something to tell you."

* * *

Maleficent looked up as her long lost roommate entered their room.

Sitting up, she hovered over to the girl.

"Where have you been?"

Tooth looked exhausted and dumped her things on her desk before flopping back on her bed. She didn't bother brushing off the pet raven that jumped heavily onto her and settled on her stomach.

"I was at Jack's place."

Maleficent frowned. "I know. For a _week_. What happened?"

Tooth looked over to her, flashing a smile in her direction. Maleficent gasped loudly at the sight of the two gaps and half tooth.

"Yeah," Tooth nodded. "I felt the same when it happened. Except there were a lot more tears involved. And snot. I feel waaay better now."

"You were gone a week because of a few teeth?" Maleficent asked.

Tooth stared for a long time before noticing Maleficent fidgeting and frowning. She spoke. "Teeth are very…important to me. If you couldn't tell from the name, of course. And the posters on my side of the room. And seventy percent of anything that comes out of my mouth."

Maleficent smirked. "My sass is rubbing off on you. And it's more like eighty percent of what comes out your mouth, be honest."

Tooth giggled. "Yeah. I'm driving down to Burgess tomorrow to get my teeth fixed. You'll have the room to yourself again. How's it been without me?"

Maleficent looked down at her nails. "Quiet. I met him earlier. He came to get your things."

Tooth smiled. "What'd you think? An evil boy like all the others, out to do me wrong and eat my heart?"

Maleficent shot Tooth a look before settling back. "He was…decent. Assumptive little brat though, just like you. I can see why you two are together."

Tooth chuckled. "I'm glad you got along with him."

Maleficent frowned. "I did not, I assure you."

A knock sounded at their door. Tooth stood to get it. The raven on her jostled and pecked at her fingers. She sighed and picked it up alongside her, letting it nest in her arms. "Oh, but he thinks so. He said you were nice."

Maleficent gaped in disbelief. "Me? Nice? Are you two socially challenged? Does the hostility and the dark clothes and my pointy possessions not affect you?"

"Oh, so you do all that stuff on purpose? I wondered." Tooth opened the door and nearly dropped the raven. She readjusted it in her arms as it angrily pecked at her. "Ow! If this is about the cawing at night, its music, and this thing in my arms is a plushie, I swear-"

Her words died in her throat as she finally lifted her gaze.

The girl. The girl from the night of the party and the one she had knocked down on the first day of school! The girl that had stopped her from getting in that car from before.

Without the haze of hurrying somewhere or liquor, Tooth could see her clearer than ever.

…And Tooth had thought Rapunzel had been beautiful.

The girl standing before her now was pristinely stunning. Her hair was platinum blonde, like each strand had been stripped from the moon itself. It was pinned behind her skull in a tight, pristine bun. The skin was smooth and fair, unblemished from head to toe with not a single blemish to be seen. Tooth would have thought her and Jack to be related if not for her dark blue eyes, rounded features, and impossibly neat clothing.

There was something else there too, Tooth noticed. The way the girl carried herself, just standing there in the hall…she seemed regal. Neat. A little too neat. Stiff, almost.

Guarded.

Tooth's mouth opened and closed like a fish before she squawked a bit and abandoned her attempts to speak.

"I've been searching for you." Even the girl's voice was neat, each syllable pronounced perfectly. It didn't hint at any emotion beneath.

"Oh." Tooth said dumbly, awed over how the voice was just as beautiful as the face was. The scene felt oddly familiar to how she first met Jack during lunch years ago. He had been looking for her too.

"I…" the girl looked as if she wanted to ask something but decided not to. "Here." She handed Tooth a bundled handkerchief.

Tooth stared at the girl a little too long before peeking in the bundle.

Two teeth and a fragment of one stared back at her.

Hers.

She looked back up at the girl with a feeling she couldn't yet identify. "…What's your name?"

The girl fidgeted as though she wanted to leave. "Elsa."

For a moment nothing happened.

Then, Tooth put down the raven softly and let her feet move on their own. Before she could blink she was wrapping her arms tightly around the other girl's neck, a difficult task since the blonde was taller than her.

Elsa gasped before patting Tooth awkwardly and trying to pull away. The smaller girl wouldn't let up.

"Thank you," Tooth repeated in chant, "thank you thankyouthankyou…!"

"You're welcome, it's not an issue, please don't-" she silenced as Tooth burrowed herself into the pale neck.

Tooth off-handedly noted how Elsa smelled a lot more like chocolate than she expected her to. Tooth had expected the oak and pine smell that Jack gave off to be on Elsa as well. Was that creepy? Was she creeping her out?

Tooth pulled back hurriedly. "Sorry. I'm touchy. I'm also getting my teeth fixed tomorrow. Your timing is awesome! My dad- my dentist too, he's both, isn't that the coolest thing? Um, I mean, he might be able to use these to reattach. Or at least make a mold for some new ones."

The blonde closed her eyes gathering herself before responding. "Oh."

"You are so awesome right now."

Elsa seemed to pale at that, unable to form the words she wanted.

"Do you want to come in?"

Tooth tried to hide her disappointment as the blonde took a step back.

"Thank you, but…"

"Is it the raven? Don't be afraid. He only pecks if you get too close. It doesn't even hurt that much." Tooth ignored how her throbbing fingers said otherwise.

Elsa shook her head. "It's not the bird. I just…I can't…" she paused at the look on Tooth's face "…right now." She added.

The sad look flew from Tooth's face and she smiled before quickly lifting her hand to cover her mouth. "Oh! Alright. Can I get your number then? Let's hang out some other time. I totally owe you for this. We can go for drinks or something after classes."

Elsa's lips tightened once more as Tooth pulled out her phone. "I- that's not…you don't really want to hang out with…"

Tooth frowned. "Huh?"

"…Nothing."

"Oh. Tell me your number!"

Elsa bit back a sigh before relenting.

Grinning, Tooth thumbed it in. "Perfect. Now smile for me?"

Elsa stared.

"For your contact picture! On my phone?"

The blank stare continued.

"That's not a smile," Tooth joked. "Er…we can always take the picture later, I guess…?"

Tooth gazed a little too long before realizing that the blonde didn't have anything else to say. "Oh! Uh. Well see you, Elsa! Thanks again."

Closing her door, Tooth turned to Maleficent. The taller girl peered at her curiously. "Who was that?"

Tooth grinned, hand over mouth. "She said her name was Elsa. She found the teeth I lost and returned them to me! She was so sweet, she wrapped them up in this nice handkerchief and everything! Oh. I should probably give it back. After washing it, of course." Tooth smiled. Now she definitely had an excuse to see the shy girl again.

Maleficent's brow quirked. "Wait…did you say 'Elsa'?"

Tooth nodded as she walked back to her side of the room, arranging things. "Yup! Do you know her?"

Maleficent scoffed. "Do I _know_ her? Please. Everyone knows Elsa Arendelle."

"What do you mean? Is she popular or something?" Tooth could see how that was a possibility. The girl had been very beautiful. One of the prettiest girls Tooth had ever seen on campus.

"Yes. She's the daughter of some wealthy family. She's a professional model, too. Has an agent and everything." A tinge of envy laced Maleficent's voice.

A model? Tooth perked up. "How do you know?"

Maleficent shrugged. "I've seen her spreads. I like her work. The colors are a bit too bright for me, but there's something about her look. She looks fierce. Like she's about to rip your heart out and use it to apply her lipstick."

Tooth cringed. Ew.

But…it didn't make any sense to Tooth. Sure, Elsa was gorgeous, but she seemed a little too rigid to be a model. Really rigid. Like a steel rod had been implanted in her spine. Didn't models have to adapt and be flexible people? At the door, Elsa had been quiet and it seemed like her natural facial expression was titled 'unsure and uncomfortable'. Tooth wondered what she looked like in her photos.

Maleficent seemed to read her mind. "Don't believe me? I'll find one of the magazines tomorrow and show you. You'll be surprised."

"It's not that I don't believe you," Tooth said, "it's just that Elsa doesn't seem like…like the 'fierce' model type to me."

Maleficent shrugged. "She's got a following on campus. Kids trailing her around like ducklings, things of that sort. They all think they're going to be the one the ice queen picks for a boyfriend or a bestie. Unfortunately for them, she lives up to the nickname."

Tooth paused. "What do you mean?"

"Ice queen. That's what they call her. She doesn't talk to people apparently? Doesn't date or have friends. Doesn't engage in normal human activity. She just goes to class and clubs and keeps to herself. She's got a sister. That's all I know."

Tooth wanted to laugh. Elsa was starting to sound a little too much like Jack, or at least the Jack that Tooth used to know. It was beginning to freak her out. "Is he sister younger than her?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god," Tooth murmured. "I have to tell him. He's got a female doppelgänger walking around campus."

Maleficent went on. "I'm not sure why the others say she's cold. I had her in a class a while ago. We partnered for a project. She wasn't rude or mean. Just reserved."

Tooth nodded. "I felt the same about her when we spoke at the door. If the rumors are true and she doesn't have friends, well…she has one now!"

"What do you mean?"

Tooth waved her phone around cheekily. "I got her number! Actually, I should text her so she has my number too."

_Sent Message_

_XX/XX/XXXX From: Tooth_

_Hi! It's Toothiana! Let's hang out soon okay? :)_

Maleficent huffed, watching her. "Well, don't let her rabid fans figure that out. They might skip past trying to bribe you for Elsa's number and go straight to attacking you."

Tooth giggled before leaping from her bed onto Maleficent's. "You're funny, Mel. That won't happen!"

Maleficent yelped, dodging Tooth's landing. "Don't ever call me that again. And we talked about leaping onto peoples' beds already! And…it's good that you're feeling better."

Tooth grinned widely, gaps be damned.


	4. First Encounters at MU

  


* * *

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."  
― _Linda Grayson_

* * *

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."  
_―Haruki Murakami_

* * *

"I never thought I'd meet someone who looks in a mirror more than I do," Maleficent wondered out loud, watching as her roommate stared into the glass.

Tooth shrugged. It's not like she could stop. Gently, she pulled her lips back to look at her teeth once more.

Her shiny, normal, un-fragmented teeth.

She licked at the implants lining her gums, marveling at the smooth feel of them. She never realized the tiny amount of texture in the rest of her teeth until she rolled her tongue over the pearly lacquer of her new teeth for the very first time.

Tooth hadn't been sure how she would feel when she had been sitting in that chair, letting her father work. She was worried the new teeth would look strange, or like glass. She wondered if they would be obvious or have a funny, lingering taste to them. Would they be as white as the rest? Would they be longer or shorter?

She had spent her whole life obsessing over teeth and that didn't change when it came to her own. She was terrified that she would look at the new ones and feel no different than she had when the old ones had been broken. Surprisingly...

...she _loved_ them.

More than she ever thought she would. The texture, the look, everything. Her father's dentistry had no limits and thanks to the finding of her old teeth, he had been able to fashion a wonderful new smile for her.

 _'I'm like an experienced hockey player now. We both have the same amount of falsies…'_ she joked as she stared into mirror after mirror upon her return to Mythos, watching her smile look like it used to.

And Jack had been right.

Her father had been more worried than upset. When she first walked into her house, he pried into her mouth and made a bunch of _'tsk'_ sounds before cradling her face and looking into her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Tooth's resolve had melted instantly.

"I'm so _sorry_ dad, I know you raised me to be better, I just don't know what I was thinking-"

He stopped her with a finger and shook his head as if that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"I don't care about any of that. I know you're a good kid. You haven't failed your mom or me, never. You're in college and things happen. I asked if you were _okay_?"

She had shook her head, running her tongue over her destroyed teeth.

"I don't think so. My smile is…it's pretty bad, dad."

He patted her face gently. "It's nothing that can't be fixed. I promise to make your smile even prettier than before."

Tooth shook her head. "No! I don't… I want everything the same as before, please. Here, I even have the old ones," she stated as she pulled out the handkerchief of teeth.

Her dad glanced at them before smirking, already drafting up plans in his head. "Good, good."

Tooth wondered how many other dads would smile at seeing their daughter's dismembered teeth. She almost laughed at the thought.

Her father spoke once more, taking the napkin from her. "You know, I never told your mother this, but...all six of my front teeth are fake."

"...You're _joking_."

"Not at all! That's what happens when you ride in shoddy go-carts made by dumb twelve-year-old neighbors. That was years ago, though."

Tooth was awed, her eyes bugging as she observed her father's grin. "But they…they look real!"

He smiled at her. "Exactly! I think you're going to like your new smile, Toothiana. Or your old one, I should say."

He had been right. She certainly did.

Every mirror's image whispered back to her:

_'You look like yourself again. Mistakes happen. Nothing that can't be fixed.'_

After her dad had finished fixing her teeth she returned to Mythos. She spoke to Jack, Sandy, and various other students and professors who had all been concerned about her disappearance. Afterwards, Tooth contacted the nearest friend that wasn't at Mythos.

Bunnymund always answered before the third ring.

He brightened at the sight of her through the webcam screen but the Aussie boy almost passed out when Tooth told him of her recent adventures in college.

"You _what_?!" Bunny had breathed in horror through the laptop screen. "Tooth, that's crazy! I'm so so sorry-" he had begun from his window on the screen, but Tooth just smiled at him. When Bunnymund saw nothing amiss in her pearly whites, confusion crossed his face.

"Are you pulling a fast one on me?" Bunny guessed.

"Nope," Tooth insisted, "I really did have a tooth crisis earlier this month. These three aren't real." She licked over them for emphasis. "They're fantastic, though!"

The relieved look that crossed his face made her laugh.

"I'm alright now," she said, "Jack helped! Other friends did, too. Everything's peachy now. I promise!"

Bunnymund suddenly looked upset. "Where was he when this all went down...?"

"Don't get mad at him, Bunny," Tooth pleaded. "He was the one who convinced me to stop feeling sorry for myself and tell my dad. If he hadn't, I would have fused to a bean bag chair and stayed there with a sore mouth forever."

"Ri-ight. Well, what does he think of the new set? Because honestly, I can't tell the difference."

Tooth grinned.

"He likes them!"

Jack had said he couldn't see nor feel the difference after kissing her when she returned to Mythos. His words had relaxed her more than she was willing to admit and she gifted him another kiss for it.

She had even apologized to his roommate, who looked at Tooth like she had grown a second head. She couldn't remember too much of her time in their room, but she was sure her attitude now was wildly different from how it was before.

She frowned thinking back on it.

"What's wrong?" Bunnymund asked, flipping through a textbook onscreen.

"N-nothing," Tooth tried, "it's just...I think I kind of lost my marbles right after the accident. I wasn't very nice to people"

"Well, who would be nice right after something like that? I would hate to take a tumble that cleared my teeth out. And no one else loves teeth as much as you. You had a right to be angry-"

"-At myself...? Because that's the only reason why it happened. Because I ignored my limits."

"Quit blaming yourself for everything, Toothie. Besides, I thought you said you were there with some team of yours. Where were they? When you go out with friends, you're all supposed to look out for each other."

Tooth's eyes grew glassy. "Come to think of it...I don't remember where they were. Or even where I went, really. It's all blurry now."

Bunnymund chuckled. "That's my girl! At least you're living the college experience! Go out, get trashed, forget, and do it all over again!"

Tooth smirked. "That experience wasn't too fun. My new college experience is going to be filled with books and non-alcoholic drinks."

Bunnymund shrugged, smiling warmly. "Just like old times? Old habits die hard, I guess. I like you the way you are, anyways."

Tooth nodded before thinking back on her dark mood holed up in Jack's dorm.

"Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

"...I felt like a failure. I've never felt that horrible before."

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke carefully. "You really are too hard on yourself sometimes. You're the furthest thing from a failure. You are the most hardworking, passionate person that I know besides Alice. Besides. We all feel bad sometimes. It's part of life. It's part of growing up."

Growing up?

Tooth wasn't sure if she was ready for that. Sure she went to college, she moved out, she dated...but if growing up meant feeling like that horrible week, she would rather run back in time, back to the days where it was just her, Jack, North, Sandy, and Bunnymund relaxing on the steps of Burgess High.

That week...that hadn't been a very good place to be in. Her mind felt sluggish and swamped, like she was sinking into a bog. She had never felt like that before except for the brief moment she had believed her mom had died overseas. But her friends had helped pull her out of that, too.

She never wanted to fall back into that place again.

Were those kinds of feelings really part of growing up? If so, why would she even want to? She had spent so much time trying to be the orderly, mature one in her group of friends but now she found herself looking for ways to escape from underneath the responsibilities and standards she had piled onto herself. Her friends certainly made things easier...

Jack made things easier.

When she was with the frosty-haired boy, she forgot every appointment, every test, every silly rule or annoyance.

He simply needed to glance at her with those lightning blue eyes and it felt as if every trouble was struck down. She had the sneaking suspicion that she affected him similarly. Despite him being her boyfriend, he was also her best friend.

Speaking of friends…

Tooth had been trying to track down Elsa for nearly a week.

After the first meeting Tooth felt herself drawn to the girl for some reason. After the last meeting, she felt nothing but grateful. She tried many times to find and thank the girl but every single time, something came up.

Elsa was always _surrounded_ by people.

Tooth didn't even realize this until she had started trying to get a moment alone with the girl. She was always on the far side of the class, unreachable. She would blend in with huge crowds on the way across campus and vanish afterwards, like a ghost. The worst was when she was being mobbed by other students.

Tooth had looked through the fashion spreads that Maleficent had found for her.

It was hard to believe how much prettier Elsa became behind the camera. She was already stunning in real life. Every photo had Elsa's face splashed on it, angular and Nordic and cold. Despite her obvious attractiveness, most of her pictures were rigid and stiff. She looked like a doll that had been set up on a wire and left behind. Her eyes were blank and her mouth, lax.

But most of all, every shot of Elsa reminded her of Jack. That is, if Jack had lifeless, hopeless eyes.

…It kind of gave Tooth the creeps.

And everything she wore was dark. Darker shades of blues and grays, nothing like the colorful palette that Maleficent had described. Then again, Maleficent's wardrobe consisted entirely of black and she liked to sit in dark rooms, so her opinion didn't really count.

Elsa looked so much like him...There were small differences, though.

Jack was a boy, of course. He was all angles and sharp lines, without the little hints of roundness that Elsa had. His hair was much more white than Elsa's. His brows were strong, dark, and his eyes held a life, a spark in them. He looked calm and confident, if not mischievous.

After looking through the spreads, Tooth had texted Elsa numerous times to hang out or just meet up. She had a feeling that the other girl was avoiding her. Every texted response from her consisted of:

_"Can't."_

_"Busy."_

_"Working."_

Tooth decided that instead of digitally pestering the girl, that she would catch her out on campus instead.

This proved more difficult than expected. No matter where she went, like the wind, Elsa disappeared.

Bunny had been quiet the entire time, working on something on his side of the world. Finally, his voice broke her train of thought.

"What are you thinking of?"

"Just a girl I met," Tooth said, "she helped me at the party that night. Before Jack and his roommate showed up. I can't remember too well but…I know she's a good person. I want to talk to her again, she's just so hard to find!"

"Tooth…"

She looked up at the tone in her friend's voice. "What…? What is it?"

"You sound like how you were when we first met Jack, that's all. I just noticed."

Tooth's eyes widened! Gosh! She did, didn't she? This was too weird. She had to tell Jack.

"I'll talk to you later Bunny, I have to go! Study hard, okay?"

Bunnymund nodded. "No worries on this side of the pond. Stay safe. Tell Jack I'll clobber him if anything else happens to you."

Tooth side-eyed him. "I can take care of myself, but I'll make sure to let him know. Bye, I love you."

His eyes softened at that, even through the pixels on the screen.

"Love you too, Tooth."

His chat window closed out and Tooth stretched and sighed before shoving on her jacket and scarf.

* * *

It was getting cold now that the fall season had spread itself across the Mythos campus. The trees were changing colors and the air was getting crisp.

Tooth inhaled happily.

She still thought of the old Burgess gang, just not as desperately as she had during the first few weeks of college. She missed them, always, and the idea of them being part of the past, not the present, still saddened her but she resolved to try and look forward. Growing up was scary but in the meantime, she could make new friends and find new things to experience.

Besides. They would all cross paths again one day. She would make certain of it. Until that fated reunion she would keep herself busy.

Tooth focused on the sidewalk cluttered with fallen leaves and stepped on a few, relishing in the sound. She was on her way towards the fountain in the middle of campus, her old sketchpad in her hands.

Dance team was in a few hours but that still gave her time to draw a few passing students. She paused in her step. Maybe she should go see Jack beforehand, just to say hi? She never needed a reason to see him these days.

Smiling, she turned and headed for his building.

She traveled past various students and waited for the old, dingy elevator to carry her up to Jack's floor. She knocked once, twice- nothing.

"…Hello?" she called out.

A door down the hall swung open. Tooth turned.

" ** _Hey_**! No girls allowed up here without an escort!"

Tooth stared at the larger boy. He looked more like a full grown man than a student. "Who are you?"

"I'm the RA. and you shouldn't be here, freshie. Go back downstairs to the lobby and tell whoever you need to see to come meet you down there. I can't have you wandering the halls, getting into trouble."

"I'm not causing trouble," Tooth said, "I'm just visiting someone. I've never seen you here before."

The boy frowned. "Hold up. Now we have problems. 'Before'? There were _other_ times you were here? When exactly did-"

Jack's door opened and Rudolph came out with bright red headphones on. His hair was ruffled and he looked tired, as if he had been up all night. He noticed the larger RA and seemed to shrink before seeing Tooth. He took a deep breath before stepping out and standing between Tooth and larger student.

"Gilgamesh, this is my…my friend. We'll go downstairs okay? Please don't get mad."

"But is Jack-?" she asked, trying to peer around him into the room.

Rudolph closed the door behind him, blocking her view. "Jack's not here right now," he supplied in a strained tone.

Gilgamesh seemed to puff up, like a balloon. "Don't tell me not to get mad, when you've been breaking rules! Rules that I specifically told you about in the beginning of the year. Thought I wouldn't find out? You act all scared and quiet but you've been disrespecting my authority for who knows how long-"

Rudolph seemed to find his voice. "No one's scared! And it was _you_ who said in the beginning of the year we could do whatever we wanted as long as you didn't find out about it! You can't just go back on that-"

"-I can!" Gilgamesh bit out, getting in Rudolph's face and quieting the younger boy. "And I will! Cause' guess what? I found out about it. Now I know about your little girlfriend. Who could've guessed you'd attract anyone, huh Rudy?"

Rudolph shook his head, seemingly afraid to correct the older student. "C'mon man, don't do this. It's been a long week. No one is hiding anything. I'll take her downstairs, okay? Tooth, let's go." Rudolph gripped Tooth's hand and pulled her along the hallway. Gilgamesh stood and watched them leave with a heated glare.

Rudolph was about to descend the stairs before Tooth gripped his hand harshly. He turned to look at her, questioning.

"Ah…" she breathed, "…can we take the elevator, instead?"

Rudolph frowned. "The elevator is at the other end of the hall. We'd have to pass that psycho's room again." His tone was exhausted and his weird nose-blush was returning with a fierceness. He motioned for her to follow him down the steps but her feet remained rooted to the spot. He groaned.

"Tooth, please, let's just go. It's only a couple of flights and I really don't want to deal with Gilgamesh, okay?"

"Rudy, I'm not…I _can't_ …" the words escaped her.

Rudolph stared at her with an alarming amount of weariness. Tooth almost wanted to ask what was wrong, but her lips seemed to stop working as she eyed the stairs lengthily.

Apparently, Rudolph saw something in her face or heard something in her voice, because soon enough he was nodding resignedly and walking her back to the other end of the hall.

Gilgamesh rounded on them the minute they neared his door. "Back so soon? I thought you were going to go downstairs? Trying to sneak her in your room, aren't you? I'm reporting you both!"

"That's not fair! I mean- please don't. Can I talk to Enkidu? Where is he?"

Gilgamesh frowned. "Enkidu's in class. No one's here to back up your excuses now. I'm reporting you. Names?"

Rudolph shook his head, completely besides himself at this point. "But…why? We're going down to the lobby right now if you would just-"

"Names," Gilgamesh repeated, "give them."

Rudolph looked torn. "Y-you already know who I am. You reported me four times just this month. It's why I was up all night, writing _another_ apology letter to the Office of Residency."

Gilgamesh seemed to delight in this information. "Oh, boohoo, go cry a river. Ru-dolt," he wrote down, tongue sticking out, "and…who is she?" Gilgamesh asked.

"Just a friend," Rudolph answered quietly. Tooth glanced at him.

 _'Why won't he just give my name? Is he protecting me?'_ Tooth certainly didn't want to mar her academic record but with her various absences already mucking things up, she didn't see the point in hiding. And wouldn't it be more decent to own up instead of letting Rudolph take the fall for her?

"I'm-" she began, but Rudolph squeezed her hand and shook his head. She silenced herself.

"Fine with me," Gilgamesh boomed as he observed the both of them, "two reports for you Ru-dolt, since you don't want her getting reported. Enjoy another night of sucking up to Residency. Later!" With that, Gilgamesh marched down the hall proudly before descending onto another passerby who happened to be standing too close to the fire alarm. "What are you doing? Pranks? I'm reporting you!"

Rudolph turned abruptly and jammed his thumb into the elevator button like he was trying to mush it out of existence. The doors opened and the two of them stepped inside, ignoring the pleading of Gilgamesh's next report victim.

Tooth fidgeted beside Rudolph into the elevator. It was quiet for a moment until Tooth's resolve broke.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't," Rudolph answered instantly, tiredly, "it's not your fault."

"I shouldn't have made you…we should have just taken the stairs."

Rudolph turned to her. "Well, we didn't, Tooth. We didn't take the stairs and I'm not mad at you for it. We should be able to walk around that hallway without worrying about anyone. Him being horrible, is not your fault. I would do it again."

Tooth smiled sadly. "I just hate how he wrote you up for nothing. Twice."

Rudolph rolled his eyes at the memory. "He was right, in a way. Jack and I broke the rules by keeping a girl in the dorms that week you were having a hard time. But all the other stuff he's written me up for…it's all made up. Arguments that didn't happen, pranks that I didn't cause. I tried being nice to him. I don't know why he keeps targeting me. He never goes after Jack. Not that I want him to, I just wonder why."

Tooth had an idea why.

Jack was one to rise to a challenge, unafraid, Rudolph seemed…opposite of that. Not to say that this made Rudolph more deserving of RA torture, but if Gilgamesh came for Jack with the same underhanded ferocity, he would've gotten pranked into next week. Gilgamesh seemed to realize he could pick on Rudolph and have few consequences follow.

"Rudy," Tooth began, "you have to tell someone. You have to speak up for yourself. What do you think will happen if he keeps reporting you? What if you get kicked out of the dorms?"

Rudolph seemed to collapse in on himself at her words and Tooth went silent. She almost wished she could take them back, but it was true.

"I know," he answered slowly. "It's just…it's hard."

Tooth waited patiently for him to explain himself. His words were hesitant.

"I mean…I already know that I won't get kicked out. None of it is even going on our permanent records. Gilgamesh writes me and a ton of other kids down for reports, but his higher ups already know that his reports are dumb. They know he's not a good RA. They just keep him around because his parents send in lots of donations to Mythos so whatever their son wants here, he gets it. That's why the rest of us just write apology letters instead of actually getting punishments."

Tooth frowned. "Okay, so you won't get kicked out. That's still not an excuse to let him bully you. You have bags under your eyes, Rudy, this can't keep happening."

Rudolph shook his head. "I just…I don't want to make a lot of noise at this school, you know? I just want to make friends and fit in. I couldn't do that back in high school, with the blushing problem. He'll get bored, sooner or later and leave me alone."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should ask Jack for help."

"I don't want him to know so don't tell him, Tooth. Jack's my friend now. We wouldn't be if he found out that I'm still getting bullied in college. Do you know how lame that is?"

Tooth shook her head. "Jack wouldn't care about that. He hates bullies. And he's a good friend, he would never _ever_ just aband-"

"-Okay, okay, I get it. I _might_ tell him. I…I still don't want him fighting my battles for me."

"Then ask him for advice on standing up for yourself if you don't want him doing it for you. Ask him to teach you how he faces things when he gets scared. Maybe that way you can face Gilgamesh."

Rudolph looked up at that. "Jack gets scared? Worried, yeah, but…scared? No way."

Tooth looked puzzled at that. "Everyone gets scared, Rudy."

The elevator doors opened.

Rudolph looked away from her. "Jack went to take a walk around campus earlier. He might be by the eastern dorms, if you check."

Tooth nodded before grabbing Rudolph's hand. "Thanks. For everything. Don't forget to ask him for help. And you and I are friends too! I care about you, so let me know if Gilgamesh bothers you again."

He looked up at her, surprised. His blush spread onto his nose and he lifted a hand to cover it. "Ahah, sorry..."

Tooth gently pulled his wrist away and looked him in the eye. "Don't be."

Rudolph nodded, a shaky breath of tension leaving him feeling lighter than before. He seemed calmer, but embarrassed with Tooth's attention on him. His blush slowly intensified. "Okay. Thanks."

She smiled at him and he smiled back before they released one another and the elevator doors closed again, separating them.

Tooth really hoped Rudolph took her advice. She had half a mind to tell his RA off herself but it had all happened so quickly...

Her entire time on their floor before, she had never even seen Gilgamesh. She _had_ seen Rudolph working on various papers late into the night. He had always told her and Jack they were essays. Were they? How could the administration let Gilgamesh get away with terrorizing others and power-tripping all for hefty donations?

She would keep her promise to not tell Jack and trust that Rudolph would, but she would also keep a close eye on him.

Tooth headed back out and decided to abandon the 'find-Jack' mission. Dance practice would start soon. She headed towards the fountain once more and gasped softly.

He been at the fountain all along.

Tooth could tell from the snowy white hair glistening, even on a cloudy day. As she drew nearer her vision sharpened and she could make out a female figure near him. Tooth's eyes widened.

Elsa?

Tooth rushed over but Elsa seemed to have ended the conversation with Jack before she could even get close. The taller girl was already walking off down the sidewalk as Tooth tried say hello.

She breathed heavily before turning at Jack. "What…what were you guys doing?"

Jack looked down at her. "What, no hello?" His face looked playful but his tone sounded a bit pinched. Maybe he was catching a cold? But no, Jack rarely got sick.

She shook the thoughts away. "Hi!" She smiled warmly at him.

"Hi," he replied, sounding a lot less stuffy. He pecked her cheek before glancing down at her sketchpad. "Gonna' trace some teeth today?"

Tooth nodded vigorously. "Yes! You know, I saw a boy with the strangest incisors yesterday-" she redirected the conversation, watching the happy look on Jack's face. "Oh! But before I tell you about that…what were you and Elsa Arendelle talking about?"

Jack thought before replying, "She was just asking about you. Made sure you were alright."

Tooth beamed. "Oh, that's sweet! I wonder why she didn't just text me or call? I never got to hang out with her after thanking her, you know? I really want to."

Jack nodded. "She seems kind of…"

"Reserved?" Tooth supplied.

"Anti-people." Jack deadpanned.

Tooth frowned. "Well, you were once too, you know. Not anymore though."

Jack shrugged, sitting down on the fountain. "Nope, not anymore. And I'm glad you pestered that trait out of me because I found some rad skating buddies by the eastern dorms. They thrash pretty hard."

Tooth nodded vaguely. "Not too hard, I hope? It would be expensive for North to send you a new boaard all the way from Russia if you broke this one. I'm glad you met new friends, though...You know she's like you in a lot of ways, you guys will probably talk more."

"Wait…Who?"

"Elsa!"

Jack's face went blank so Tooth went on to explain. "Well, she has a younger sister too, looks similar, is a little quiet, and get this: apparently Bunnymund thinks-"

Jack gave a dry chuckle, expression still vague. "It's cool, Tooth. I already knew all this stuff. Other kids say the same thing."

Tooth's eyes widened as she nodded. "Isn't it strange? You two have so much in common! But I just really want to talk to her and find out about all the things people don't know, like-"

"-You really want to be friends with her, don't you?"

Tooth paused. "Well, yeah."

Jack patted her arm gently. "Don't freak out over this. It'll happen. She obviously cares about you if she keeps checking up on you. You don't have to force anything."

Tooth bit her nails. "But I feel like she's avoiding me…What if-?"

Jack sighed loudly and pulled Tooth down to sit beside him. "C'mon. Let's see if we can spot that kid with the funky incisors."

Tooth smiled before opening up her sketchbook and searching around. Jack watched her draw her pictures patiently and wrapped a cool arm around her.

* * *

"Victory! Yesss!" Thor howled, the volume rattling nearby windows. Tooth jumped in surprise right there in the student lobby.

She couldn't help it. She felt like a puny ant next to Thor and when he roared like that…well, it just wasn't easy keeping cool! Others seemed to feel the same as several kids dropped their pens and books in surprise, looking around.

"Thor! Shh, please! The other students-"

"-know _nothing_ of my success! You there," he pointed a random girl out, "you see this paper? What does the top say?"

"Uh…" the kid droned, "98 percent?"

"On what?" Thor thundered.

"98 percent on a midterm exam!" The girl squeaked before scrambling away.

"That's right!" Thor called after her. "I passed!"

He swiveled around on Tooth, who reacted by clutching her books tighter to her chest. "If not for you," Thor began as he gripped her shoulders, "I don't think I would have ever seen an A on a test with my name on it in this lifetime. Or the next. Or the one after that! I owe you. I owe you big time."

Tooth shook her head. "N-no Thor, I only helped. _You_ were the one who stuck to the study schedule and-"

Thor pulled her clad against his side and swung out his hand before their faces, as if he was surveying some imaginary landscape. "I get to keep my offers. I get to stay on the team. All because of you, Tooth. Together we will own this school!"

Tooth shook her head. "Ah, no that's okay.."

"I swear, everyone thought I had rocks for brains," Thor released her and sat back down, "even…even me," he realized slowly. Tooth frowned.

"Thor, you're not dumb." She felt her conscience nag her, reminding her that she _had_ thought Thor was unintelligent back in high school, that he was only proficient in sports. Her voice strengthened. "You never were."

"I know that, _now_. It's just…Do you know how many times back in high school that I asked Athena or Thoth or Sága to tutor me and they all just laughed? How many times I failed a class and they all patted me on the back like it was supposed to happen? Like they expected it?"

Tooth's brows rose. She had never realized.

Thor went on. "I…I didn't like to talk about it but somehowneveryone already knew. I failed freshman and sophomore year. I had failed seventh grade before that, even. Hell, my little brother was in the same grade as me. He's so smart, you know. Not like me."

Tooth reached out and grabbed Thor's massive hand. "You are smart! So what you had a few hiccups along the way? You may be older than the rest of us but you learned the material all the same. It just took some guidance and pushing, that was all you ever needed. You aced that test, not me. You."

Thor's voice lowered for the first time in a while. "Everyone thought I was a joke. Except you. You believed."

"And I still do. You'll do fine. Don't doubt yourself anymore, okay?"

Thor nodded. "Okay. Yeah." He looked over at her. "But enough of my complaining. What about you? How are you with the…you know, the teeth?" He asked, pointing at his own for emphasis.

Tooth bit at her pencil before answering. "Um…it's good!"

Thor frowned. "Really?"

"Yes! See? The false ones look amazing, just like the old ones." She smiled for him. She could tell that Thor wasn't really buying it.

"Yeah. Amazing. But are _you_ okay? Not too many people get in accidents like that. It's just weird that it would happen to you. You're the last person I would expect to have to go to a dentist. You like that stuff so much, teeth and all."

Tooth chuckled before running her tongue over her false teeth and looking Thor in the eye. "I mean, yes. It was really scary when it happened. I kind of went manic for a while. My boyfriend and his roommate took care of me, even though they shouldn't have had to. But I got the teeth fixed and everything's okay now. Honestly I'm fine with the new ones."

And she was. Truly, Tooth adored her teeth.

But…

"So you're good now? Just like that?" Thor snapped for emphasis, the sound deafening.

Tooth nodded and forced a smile. "Just like that." Her own imitative snap paled in comparison.

Thor nodded slowly, his unease slipping away. "If you say so. Let's put those new teeth to use, then! Want to grab something to eat? I'm starved."

Together, they left the lobby and headed for the front doors. Tooth pushed down the strange feeling in the back of her mind.

It wasn't like Thor needed to know the truth. Or anyone for that matter. Everyone had already worn themselves thin trying to keep her together over a disaster that she had kind of caused. She barely remembered the night but Tooth was sure it had been her fault somehow.

And the nightmares seemed to be fading. A bit.

She kept dreaming about traipsing down dusty stairwells, only to trip and hurt herself all over again. One moment her teeth were crumbling in her mouth and in the next moment, she would wake up, sweating, panting, with every single tooth solidly in place.

She didn't know if it was too healthy but it seemed like an easy enough fear to avoid. There were ramps and elevators and escalators all over campus. She never really had to take stairs if she didn't want to.

That was okay. Right?

Thor grinned at Tooth and she mirrored it back. "What should we get today? Burritos? Shawarma? Burgers?"

He hopped down the building's front steps and looked brightly back at her. "Well, you coming or not?"

Her smile slipped away.

* * *

There were more changes aside from the aversion to stairs.

A morning arrived where she finally found the elusive Elsa Arendelle. It had been very unexpected.

Tooth had been looking for a quiet spot to read after a class. She found a small, quiet garden behind the library but the peace was suddenly interrupted. A redhead arguing with with some older guy burst into the silent space. They spoke in hushed whispers and though the girl seemed exasperated, the guy looked unaffected. Neither noticed Tooth sitting nearby.

 _'He's got killer sideburns',_ Tooth thought vaguely as she pretended not to watch either of them. High school drama became college drama, who knew?

Tooth grew alarmed when they both went quiet. At first she thought they had noticed her. But that couldn't be, neither of them were looking at her. They were looking at the entrance of the garden.

Elsa seemed to melt from a corner into appearance, her eyes hard.

"Have I interrupted something?" Her voice revealed nothing though her eyes told enough. She was angry.

The sideburns guy answered quick as lightning. "Yes, and we would both appreciate it if you didn't barge in every time we tried to have a private conversation. We're in a relationship, I'm sure you understand…though you might not relate."

Elsa stiffened further and stepped forward. "I wasn't speaking to you. Anna, we're leaving."

The redhead drew away from her. "No, he's right. You…you can't just show up and expect things to go your way all the time. Just because mom and dad let you do whatever you want doesn't mean that I will. I was talking to him first. And yes, it's private."

"Nothing's private between us," Elsa insisted with a hurt expression. Tooth felt bad that she found it strangely beautiful. Elsa never usually seemed like she felt anything but now…"We tell each other everything."

Anna shook her head. "You…you actually believe the words coming out of your mouth right now? Please. You haven't been honest with me since grade school, why would you start now?"

"Anna-"

"Hans, let's go," the redhead called, walking away. Her eyes landed on Tooth. "This place isn't as private as I thought."

The guy followed closely behind her. "Whatever you want, you'll have. I'll make sure of it. I know the perfect place."

Together, they left the quiet abode. Elsa's brows drew together harshly before she began to head after them.

Still seated and returning her gaze to her textbook, Tooth called out calmly, "Maybe you shouldn't...?"

Elsa stopped in her tracks before spotting Tooth. "Shouldn't what?"

"Follow them."

"…How long have you been there?"

Tooth shrugged.

"A while. That was your sister, I'm guessing?"

Elsa sighed, staring after them. She seemed to have given up the chase. "Yes."

"And her boyfriend?"

Elsa's eyes turned to steel once more. "Yes," she grit out.

"I take it that you don't like him."

"No," Elsa agreed, before collapsing into the chair beside Tooth. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Tooth watched closely, trying not to look obvious.

"So…" Tooth began, thinking of a conversation starter. This was a perfect opportunity and after all of her pursuing, Elsa seemed to have dropped from the sky! "You've totally been avoiding me."

Elsa's fingers stopped and Tooth rushed to think of something else to say. _'Whoops.'_

"Wow, uh, I just totally put my foot in my mouth. What I meant to say was…I haven't heard from you in a while."

Elsa looked down at the table and scratched a perfectly pedicured nail into the wood. "I've been busy." She didn't sound confident in the statement.

"Too busy to hang out? C'mon." Tooth gently nudged the other girl with her elbow. "I know you have clubs and school and everything, but you should take a breather. I learned that the hard way. Cost me three teeth. Sometimes I still have to remind myself to slow down."

Elsa's eyes seemed to widen at the memory. "That night…are you okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Tooth wondered aloud. " _Yes_ , I'm okay. Thanks to you, I got awesome molds for my new teeth. See?" She pulled back her lips and smiled.

Elsa seemed to almost mirror the grin back before her cold mask of ice stamped it back down. Tooth was sad to see the small attempt fail.

"What?" Elsa asked tightly, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Nothing," Tooth sighed, looking Elsa in the eyes, "I would just love to see your smile. I bet it's fantastic."

Elsa's eyes widened and the tips of her ears went pink. She looked everywhere but at Tooth before choking out a shocked laugh. She began to speak before closing her mouth multiple times.

Tooth watched her struggle for words before continuing. What did she have left to lose? She may as well lay it all out in the open.

"I bet your teeth are interesting. Well, I mean, everyone has an interesting set but I would really like to see yours. It's hard to get a good look in there when you're talking."

Elsa really did laugh this time. It was light and a bit raspy, as if unused to hitting air. "Oh my- that's…Toothiana that's a really strange thing to mention out of the blue-"

Tooth chuckled alongside her. She knew it was weird but she had already learned long ago to just accept what she liked. "What do you mean? It's a strange thing, sure, but it's my thing! I think teeth are _awesome_. You know, with the name and everything you could probably tie the knots together yourself."

Elsa laughed once more, her teeth becoming more visible. She didn't try to tuck this smile away like the last one. "I guess so."

Tooth nodded enthusiastically. "But you wouldn't know that much about me because we don't really hang out. We should, you know. Hang out more."

Elsa was quiet for a moment before she looked at Tooth. "Okay."

"Now?"

"Sure."

"You're serious?" Tooth couldn't imagine it would be that easy, after all the pursuing.

Apparently it was. Elsa nodded once more, "Completely."

Tooth stood up sharply, making Elsa jump. "Cool! Let's go…uh…eat!"

She quickly packed her things into her bag before lifting it, forgetting to zip it up. Books spilled back out onto the table and Tooth wondered how much more she could embarrass herself before retrieving the books back into her hands.

Elsa stood to help her. Tooth couldn't help but notice the sleeves shifting on Elsa's shirt. Now that she thought about it, she had never seen the girl bare-armed or bare-legged, for that matter. It was nearing winter, of course, and the air was too cold for short sleeves, but for some reason the tiny note stood resilient in her mind.

She forgot soon enough when Elsa's hand brushed hers.

Strange. Tooth had expected a coolness on the skin, like Jack's. A rougher texture, despite the petite hands. She found none of these things. Only a normal temperature on unusually soft fingers.

Tooth realized her hand was still lingering on Elsa's. She looked up to see if she had bothered the girl but Elsa wasn't even looking at her. Her attention seemed to be drawn on Tooth's sketchbook, in her hands.

"That's my other hobby," Tooth supplied, "art and stuff. I like to draw people and their…uh…"

"Teeth?" Elsa wondered, moving the hand that was touching Tooth's away to flip through pages of the book. Her eyes seemed focused before something sparked in them and she snapped the book shut. "Ah, I'm sorry."

Tooth took the book as Elsa shoved it towards her. "For what?"

"Looking through your things. It's intrusive."

Tooth shook her head. "No I don't mind. Nothing to hide, anyways."

Elsa picked up her own things. "It's yours. It's private. No one should look at it if you don't want them to."

Tooth was surprised at the hard look on the other girl's face before hoisting her own bag over her shoulder. "Yeah, I guess…but I don't care if people know about it. I used to. Not anymore."

Elsa said nothing as Tooth walked beside her, out of the quiet alcove. Tooth enjoyed the silence and glanced at the surrounding trees. It was a nice fall day.

"I saw the boy from before. There are lots of pictures of him in your sketchbook," Elsa murmured.

Tooth's brow perked as she thought. Boy? _Oh_. "Jack?"

Elsa nodded.

Tooth smiled. "Well, he's my boyfriend and has my favorite set of teeth in the entire world, so yes, he'd definitely be in there. I sketch him all the time!"

Elsa seemed to think on that information before looking away, her mouth turning to a slight frown. "Oh."

"Maybe one day you'll let me put you in here with the rest of my sketches?"

Elsa nodded, still frowning. "Maybe."

Together they went to the campus cafeteria. Tooth almost immediately noticed the groups of students that watched intently as they walked by, though none of them were looking at Tooth. All of them seemed to be admiring Elsa, who strolled past them as if they didn't exist in her realm. Tooth couldn't help but peer back and wonder a bit more about the girl beside her. She resolved to ask all sorts of questions during lunch.

Surprisingly, Tooth was able to learn quite a bit about the quiet girl without ever asking anything.

Elsa was extremely organized in nearly every way. Her hair never moved from the tight braided bun she adorned as her hands deftly arranged every lunch item before her. She chewed her food before talking, her elbows never touched the table, and never did she laugh, chuckle, sneeze, cough, or even scratch an itch as they ate. Tooth was impressed by the level of control, amazed at how Elsa seemed to put such high values in organization and her image. Why else would someone be that focused in regulating their actions?

Still. It seemed unnatural, in a way. Tooth couldn't put a finger on it but to be blunt, it felt as though she were sitting next to a robot, not a girl. She had never sat through a lunch where the other person didn't even chew with their mouth open just a little.

The blonde was also very guarded. She spoke little and when she did, she seemed to refrain from giving a lot of information.

"So, how are classes?"

"Fine, thank you."

"...Do you have any favorites?"

"Not really."

"Oh. Well, who do you hang out with after class?"

"I don't. If I see anyone after class, they're usually coworkers."

"Right. So, uh…coworkers, huh? What's your job?"

Elsa looked up at that, her brows rising slightly. "I'm sure you already know. Most people I run into, know."

Tooth shrugged. "Well, maybe I wanted to hear it from you, not the rumor mill."

Elsa smirked before looking back at her food. "I'm a model."

"That's cool. Do you like it?"

Elsa took a moment to think. "Yes. I like being able to be directed and told what to do. I don't have to think so much."

Tooth nodded. "Do you think about other things a lot outside of work, then?"

Elsa seemed to realize her slip. "N-no."

"Really? Nothing?"

"Yes."

Tooth sat back and tried not to laugh at how silly her answer had been. Of course Elsa thought of stuff outside of work. She certainly didn't believe the answer she had been given but Tooth wouldn't push. She didn't know what Elsa was hiding her thoughts for.

Without the questions from Tooth, Elsa didn't have anything left to say and chose to dig around in her bag instead. She seemed to hold her breath until she pulled out a small ornate box, flipping it open delicately. Breathing in relief, she pulled a dark block out before popping it in her mouth.

Tooth leaned over to look at the box.

"What are those…chocolates?"

Elsa closed her eyes and nodded, savoring the candy. She moved the box towards Tooth who gratefully ate a piece.

"Mmm…these are like, explosions in my mouth! So good!"

Elsa nodded again, a small smile on her face. "I eat one with every meal."

So, Elsa had a massive sweet tooth? Tooth could get with that as long as the amounts of sugar they consumed weren't enamel damaging!

Elsa quickly recovered and put the box away, smoothing her face into it's mysterious blank slate once more. She straightened her back as well as her utensils before folding her napkin into neat, little, pristine squares.

Tooth tilted her head a bit.

When was this girl ever slouching or slumping? When wasn't she hiding her expressions or her thoughts? When did she ever stop controlling every aspect of herself and just…live?

Tooth liked seeing emotion in her, as she had liked seeing it with Jack. Some people just weren't meant to be made of ice, and Elsa certainly seemed to be one of those people. Every time they spoke, Tooth could see something brimming beneath the surface, edging behind the words. Elsa wasn't ever comfortable because she wasn't ever being herself, it seemed. Who was she? A stiff, pretty face or someone else?

Would Tooth ever know?

"Relax, Elsa."

The blonde seemed to stiffen at the words. Tooth thought she was going to get angry for a moment. Instead, she spoke. The words came quiet.

"How can I? You…you look at me like everyone else does."

Tooth leaned forward, interested in finally getting something other than monotony out of the girl before her,"...How do they look at you?"

"Like I'm a puzzle that they can't figure out just yet." Elsa's throat bobbed tightly.

Tooth's eyes widened.

Those words sounded familiar and echoed of arguments from long ago..

_Do...do you only hang around to see what makes me tick? You probably think you're some kind of Sherlock Holmes, solving the mystery of Jack Frost, the reject. Have you figured me out yet, Tooth?_

Tooth bit her lip as the memories of past arguments faded into background noise. She...she hadn't meant to do that again. She hadn't meant to pry! She was just curious. Elsa was building a wall between them, but why? Tooth had been nothing but nice, if not a bit aggressive. "That's not-"

"-You won't." Elsa replied shortly, looking into Tooth's face. "Figure it out, I mean. There's nothing to solve. I'm not a puzzle, I'm a person."

"I never said you weren't," Tooth responded, confused yet ashamedly excited to see some emotion in the blank girl, "I'm just trying to be friendly. Friends ask questions. Friends wonder about one another, ask about their days, about the stuff they do, about the people they hang out with."

"We're strangers." Elsa said. "You don't know me, Toothiana. You only want to because everyone else wants to. I'm on covers and in catalogs, my last name is Arendelle, so of course these things makes me worth knowing, right?"

Tooth frowned. ' _Huh?'_ Her words seemed to erupt past her lips, unstoppable."I wanted to know you before I _ever_ knew what your job or your last name was! First it was to apologize for accidentally kicking you on the first day of school, then it was to thank you. You stopped me from getting into a bad situation, or tried to stop me, at least. I can smile again because you saved the teeth I lost."

When she began speaking she was only questioning but a strange anger powered it's way through her as she went on. Tooth was so tired of people calling her 'prying' when she was only trying to be friendly! She went on.

"...Why are you making me sound so awful? You think I only talk to you because you're what? Popular? That's just…is that how you see me? Is that how you see everyone who tries to get to know you?"

By the end of it, she found herself having to check her volume. She was not going to freak out, not now. She just didn't understand why many people in her life had made it so hard to get close to them, to get to know them! Jack got a pass because Tooth loved him immensely and saw the effort for his attentions worth it, but everyone else...?

She shouldn't have to fight this hard for friendship.

Sandy, North, Bunnymund, they had all taken to her so easily. She didn't have to chase after anyone or break down walls, they had all been ready to receive her from the get-go. She didn't have to doubt herself every single time she spoke to them. Even Jack had become easier after a while.

Besides. Tooth had secrets and insecurities too. But she didn't let them stop her from getting close to people. Maybe it was wrong to expect the same from others, especially when she didn't know of their troubles but...she was done chasing for something that she had gotten so easily before. If Elsa didn't see her as worthy of friendship then maybe she should just end things now.

Tooth stood suddenly and grabbed her things and packed them away as Elsa's eyes widened.

"Honestly, you make it kind of difficult, Elsa. I know we don't know each other too well but that won't change if you never make the effort to try and befriend me back. I'm not asking for your life story, your fame, or your money. I just wanted to be your friend."

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, Tooth sighed. "Sorry for bothering you."

Elsa gripped her wrist suddenly. Tooth was almost as shocked at the initiative contact as she was at the words that followed.

"Sit down, please. Let me explain."

Tooth sat, not entirely sure why. She was itching to get away and forget about desiring a friendship with someone who thought she was a social leech.

Elsa struggled for words. "You can't be mad at me, okay?"

Tooth felt a spark of anger. Why not? Why couldn't she be mad at anyone she chose? But Elsa continued.

"You think you're being treated unfairly? You are…not the first one on this campus that has tried to be a 'friend'."

Tooth nodded slowly. Elsa went on. "I…I have to be protective. I can't keep…I mean, it happened back home, too. I don't want that here at Mythos."

"Want 'what'? What happened back home?"

Elsa shook her head and seemed to shut down the topic before redirecting the conversation. "My sister is the most important thing here to me. Nothing else. No one will get in between that."

Tooth stared. "I…Elsa, I don't even know your sister. I've seen her a grand total of once. Why would you think I would ever try to get between the two of you?"

Elsa seemed lost in her words and searched for the right thing to say.

Tooth thought as she waited for Elsa to speak. She thought of her old Burgess friends. She had them all through high school and even before then, she had her own little groups of friends. Here at college despite some trouble, she had made so many friends that she had nothing to really despair over. So what if it was a little hard to befriending certain people?

Tooth only felt lonely when she thought of her golden memories of Burgess High. Had Elsa ever had that? Was there a group of friends waiting for her back home? Or no one?

She said she only had her sister. The same sister who had walked away from her earlier. Maybe she had a really good reason for being so guarded? Maybe it wasn't because Elsa didn't see Tooth as unworthy of friendship, but because she was afraid?

Elsa looked Tooth in the eye once more. "I make it hard because I have to. I don't want it to be easy for people to…"

"…To what?" Tooth insisted. What was the girl getting at? "Use you? Because I'm not trying to do that. You don't have to be scared of me."

Elsa looked unsure.

Tooth gazed past the order and the beauty and saw a flicker of something in the girl before her. Past the masks, Elsa Arendelle was likely very different from the girl sitting before her. She had walls on top of walls. Tooth couldn't help but wonder what lay underneath.

"I think I get it, now," Tooth assured, "But how will you ever know who's a real friend and who isn't if you stop trying to make any, completely?"

In all the time that Tooth knew Elsa she had never seen the girl with anyone else.

Elsa bit her lip. "I want to try now, Toothiana. I _am_ trying."

Tooth licked at her false teeth behind closed lips. She had judged too early. Maybe they could still make this friend thing work?

"Yeah...I guess you are. Sorry for...you know what? Let's start over."

Tooth straightened her back before clearing her throat, smiling brightly, and holding out her hand.

"I'm Toothiana."

Elsa hesitated. She looked between Tooth's hand and her own before reaching out with a confidence that Tooth was glad to see.

"Elsa Arendelle. It's a pleasure meeting you." A small smile mirrored back Tooth's grin and this time, it held fast.

* * *

**"Just like that, Tooth?"**

"Just like that, Sandy!"

**"So you're hanging out with the local Mythos supermodel now. Cool."**

"You guys...can we _please_ talk about something non-Arendelle related? What's the plan for Halloween?"

**"C'mon Jack, Halloween can wait. Besides, you're the biggest gossip out of all of us."**

"Ha! Actually, no. That would be Bunnymund and you know it. Guy has big ears for a reason, Sandy."

**"At least he has a cool costume planned, unlike you."**

"Hey! Those inflatable T-Rex costumes are _a-mazing_ , don't deny it. What're you going to be, a koala again?"

**"A sloth."**

"Of course. Because they sleep a lot, right?"

**"Yep. Just like me, resident narcoleptic."**

"Ha. Classic self-depricating gag-costumes. Gotta' love it."

Tooth was in a hallway, speaking alongside Sandy to Jack on her video phone. They had all been catching up between classes and trying to figure out what they would do for the upcoming October holiday break. Tooth couldn't decide if she should dress up as dentist again this year for Halloween, or a giant molar. The giant molar had been a hit back in high school.

They were all knee-deep in conversation when a voice interrupted from Tooth and Sandy's side. The sound broke through the still air in the empty hallway.

"Toothiana, is it?"

They both turned. A tall, dark haired boy stood nearby. She hadn't heard his approach and his sudden appearance nearly made her jump.

"That's me! Hi, uh-"

"-Loki," the boy supplied smoothly, "nice to meet you. You've been doing an excellent job tutoring my brother. I just thought I'd stop by to say thanks."

Tooth's eyes widened. "Oh! Thor? You're the brother he speaks so much about!"

Loki gave an easy smile. "Good things, I hope?"

"Always," Tooth insisted, "he thinks very highly of you. He's proud."

"As am I for him. I must ask…how have you approached mentoring him? He never was one for focusing well on academics."

Tooth shook her head. "Oh, well he's great now! His memory is quick, he's determined, and he likes what he's learning. He just needed a push in the right direction."

Loki stared curiously. "A push," he repeated.

They stood a moment, staring at one another.

Tooth could feel Sandy tighten up beside her but she wasn't sure why. Loki was a charming young man. It was hard to see the resemblance between Thor and him, now that Tooth pondered it. The only thing they shared was height, not age, not hair, not eye color, not even demeanor.

Loki assessed her for a moment longer before breaking into an easy smile once more. "I guess we'll be seeing one another more often then, Toothiana?"

Tooth nodded happily. "Yes, of course!"

Loki began walking away. "I look forward to it."

She waved at his back before turning to look at Sandy. The smaller boy seemed off. Tooth laid a soft palm on his forehead.

"Sandy, are you okay?"

He nodded before waving Tooth's hand away.

 **"That guy is strange,"** he signed. " **Gives me a funny feeling."**

Tooth looked confused.

"Really? I thought he was being really nice. I mean, yes, the staring was weird but…you never know. Maybe he just has minor social issues? We shouldn't judge. He was nothing but polite."

**"You're right. I'm sorry"**

"Oh, it's alright Sandy! I felt it, too."

They both turned their attention back to the phone's screen.

"Who was that?" Jack asked. "You guys ignored me forever."

"No one," Tooth said to the screen. Sandy signed something towards Jack. Tooth was glad to see Jack's ASL knowledge returning and his relationship strengthening once more with Sandy, despite the gap schoolwork tried to push between them all. Jack nodded before signing something back and turning towards Tooth.

"Sandy and I think we should go to that Halloween bash the university's throwing instead of the frat holiday parties. There's going to be a concert, food, a costume contest, and some other stuff. I've been hearing rumors about a spooky scavenger hunt."

Tooth nodded, knowing all too well that Jack was someone who could never pass up a good game, "We can do that! Should we dress up after all, then? I thought we were just joking about that."

"No jokes here. We'll all get costumes," Jack insisted, "it'll be fun."

Sandy smiled at both of them. "It's settled then," Tooth announced. "Let's plan more later today. Can you meet up now?"

"I've got one more class to go to. Then I'll head your way," Jack said.

"Alright," Tooth smiled. "See you then."

**"Bye."**

Jack snapped his phone shut and gazed at it warmly. It was kind of mushy, but he really loved those guys. They both kept him grounded in this new school, this new town.

"Who was that?"

Jack glanced up. "Girlfriend and a friend."

"Wow…You've got friends all over, huh? Almost more than me. I'm jealous, Jack."

Jack pushed off of the brick wall and smiled. "Pfft, yeah right. So…like I was saying, you've got an amazing board. I can't believe you went to Burgess too. Small world, huh? You should come down by the park with me and these guys from the eastern dorms later. Bring your buddies with you, ah…what was your name, again?"

"Peter," the redhead flashed a grin, "I bet I can even show you a few tricks."

"Yeah? We'll see."


End file.
